A Tale of Six Shoes

In mid-December I left my running shoes at the gym. I remember the day vividly, as it was around my birthday. I showered at the gym and then went to my friend's apartment. I had a lot of stuff with me - much more than normal, and someone left my shoes on a bench in the locker room. I've left a few things there before - a track jacket, a basic watch - all of which have not been returned. However, I've returned things to the lost and found - a watch and even an iPod, so I was hoping someone would turn in my shoes. I mean...who would wear an old pair of someone else's running shoes? That just seems unnatural and rather disgusting to me. I checked the lost and found multiple times up until Christmas, but my shoes were never returned. Two shoes are now happy to have a different home...at least I hope anyway.

My life was pretty busy from my birthday to Christmas, including a skiing trip and then traveling to see my family for the holiday. I didn't have time to get shoes the first week and knew I could not live without a pair, so I broke out my old running shoes from this summer. Remember when i lost my toenails this summer? It turns out my feet grew a half size, so the shoes that I left at the gym were bigger than my summer shoes. I was worried about the wearing the smaller-sized shoes, but decided to give it a go anyway. As it turns out, my summer shoes were okay. I didn't have any major problems, just that my feet were a little squished; however, I was still able to log some pretty awesome miles in that time.

After my winter vacation began, I finally found time to go to the running store to get a new pair. It turns out they updated my Saucony's and the color was gold, not blue, anymore. I am a big supporter of Saucony shoes - they are the only thing I will run in. I knew I needed a low-mileage day to break in my new shoes and I had that opportunity when I was visiting my family. And it turns out that my new shoes are even more awesome than my old ones. At first I was not a huge fan of having gold-accented shoes, but now I love it. They have a little added sparkle and remind me of how awesome I am as a runner (no comments necessary). They are also more comfortable than the older model. I love my new shoes and am on track to log 100 miles on them by next week. So in the end, maybe it was a good thing that I left my shoes at the gym.

Have you ever forgot someone at your gym? Did you get it back?