Today I ran my first running race since high school PE class. It was the Gwangju Marathon, Half marathon, 10k and 5k today. I signed up for the 5k several months ago, only to find out as it came close to race day that my Korean friend who signed me up misunderstood my request and actually signed me up for the 10k.
Well, Thursday I went to the gym to practice (I've been running on the treadmill to avoid pollution and blizzardy weather), and my running shoes were nowhere to be found. Everyone at my gym leaves their athletic shoes on the shoe rack when they leave, so I do too without a second thought. So, when I couldn't find them (2 days before my big race), I thought someone must have just moved them...but it wasn't so. The kind guys at the gym searched all over for my shoes, then they gave me a new pair to compensate. But, I gave them back because they didn't work. The first available time to go shoe shopping was Friday night. I finished my VERY STRESSFUL day at work at 9:00, so I raced to the bus and got downtown by about 9:55....5 minutes before most stores close. I raced to the biggest shoe store I know, and made it just in time. Guess what? American size 9 and a half, women's, doesn't exist in Korea. They stop at 8 because Koreans just don't have feet that big! I requested to try on a few men's pairs. There were 2 salespeople who spoke English, so I told them all about my crazy sob story of the stolen shoes. So, my situation became known in the entire store, and everyone had advice on the best shoes for me to buy for my situation. There were about 5 or 6 shoe salespeople debating on the best shoe...however, they wouldn't just let me try them all on. They had to discuss it, in length (after the store closed!), before settling on the best pair for me. I tried them on, and after a few laps around the store, I was sold.
They are like running on air, and I did great for my race...probably better than my old shoes. I hope whoever accidentally wore my old one's out of the gym is enjoying them because everything worked out perfectly! No harm done!
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Maria, just keep it up and every person in Gwangju who works in a gym, store or salon will be your friend! That's great that your show story turned out so well - I wouldn't be surprised if your other shoes show back up on the rack one of these days...
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