Pears on the Podium

It was a bittersweet day in the realm of Korean races.

Yesterday we bussed to a town west of Busan called Jinju.
The trip got us there around 3:30 (1 hour subway plus 1.5 hour bus ride) and we promptly checked into our love motel, 'The Movie Motel' ( thank you, Lonely Planet! ).

After dropping off our things, we took a walk along the Jinju river to check out the lay of the land, and to find the race start.  During our promenade we found a last renting bikes for 3000won an hour and took her up on the offer. 

Jinju, a city of about 300,000 (small by Korean standards) is a gorgeous place, separated by a medium sized river, with all the amenities a city needs but not so much of the big city population, skyscrapers or all-around vastness. Walking and biking along the river gave me a very 'home' feeling and reminded me a lot of spending time along the St. John river in Fredericton.

We returned our bikes ( which we rented by giving nothing but a phone number... the trust of Koreans!) then strolled around Jinju's downtown looking, unsuccessfully, for a McDonalds but settling for a Pizza Hut. 


Our friend Matt, who was also running, came into town and we spent the evening with him before having a good ol' love motel sleep and waking up for the race in the morning. 


We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day.  The sun was shining, a lovely 18-20ish degrees with a slight breeze.  Ian and Kylene ran the 10km event while Matt ran the 1/2 marathon.  

10km start

We ran into another crew of Waeguks from Daejon (The DIABLOS!) who generously shared their tent space with us.  One of the members of the group had sandals straight from Barefoot Ted, of Tarahumara-related fame. We were pretty blown away that he was about to run a full marathon with nothing but a cm of rubber on his feet. 

By the time the race start rolled around, I nearly missed the gun but managed to shove my way up to the front of the start line and headed off with the aim of placing at least top 3.  


After the first mile or so, I passed the lady ( who was likely 60 years old ) in third, and proceeded to keep my eye on the only other female I saw, about 500m ahead.  The race course was nearly all flat and I went through my first km in about 3:58 but slowed down for the next 2, clocking in at 4:00 and 4:03.  After the turn-around, female number 1 was within sight and I made the conscious decision to pump it up and not let this race get away from me.  At km 4, I put it up one more half gear and passed the first place female (a woman who has repeatedly beat me at other 10km events) and then left her in the dust after a fortunately placed short downhill. 


My happiness was short-lived when I heard my watch beep for 5km and the finish line was nowhere in sight.  Tim, however, was in sight.  Caught up in the anger about another too-long course, I actually ' shhhhhed' Tim when he cheered me on.  Worst girlfriend/sport of the year!


Though I was hurting, I pushed for the extra 500m which translated into an extra 2 minutes of running and made for a poor 5km finish time (21:40).  My actual 5km time was 19:40, which is not an amazing time, but is a decent PB for me -  I think would have been faster had I had the finish line in sight..but who knows?


Overall, a great race.  I am really happy with the time, placing and strategizing I was able to do.  


Ian came in shortly after from the 10km with a time that placed him 3rd among the males. A great job by Mr Doyle for his last race in Korea.  

congrats Ian!

Kylene came in shortly after, exasperated with the race course congestion caused by the hoards of people walking the course. 

power duo.

Matt rolled right by us - he wasn't wearing his blue shirt uniform, so we missed him - after finishing his 2nd half marathon in Korea. 

Great job Mr Collins!

The race ceremony was pretty typically Korean, but I am happy to say that I received my favorite prize yet:  a 30lbs box of asian pears!! The giant box made for an awkward hand off on the podium, but what a treasure!

oh thank you!

Following the awards, we relaxed in the sun beside the beautiful river, sharing pears and sipping on beer and makgoli with the Daejon group. 

new friends!

Ian the ajumma and Tim the tank carried our combined 60lbs of pears a ways before we loaded ourselves back onto the bus to Busan and finished off another wonderful weekend at the happiest place on earth: McDonalds. 

t tank and i ajumma.

note the pure bliss.

April: the month that wasn't.

YEAH, yeah, I know there is a week left to go in April, but this month has gone by SO fast that I wouldn't believe it happened - if I didn't have a hundred pictures of it.

Mom and Dad's visit can now be 'checked' off the list, as they left early Thursday morning.  Although, I should maybe make that a tentative check because the last time I heard from them they were stuck in Vancouver due to their requirement for at least one travel mishap each trip. Here's hoping they are home as I write this...


After Daegu, Mom and Dad went off to Jeju island to check out 'Korea's Hawaii'.  The weather was a bit cooler than they had anticipated, but they found the island beautiful and had a great time hiking, visiting museums, and chatting up the school kids their on their spring field trips. 


When they returned, we were able to spend the weekend showing them some of Busan's best spots. On Saturday, Tim and I (mostly Tim) led them up Jangsan mountain, which is unofficially 'our' mountain because we live on it and get the luxury of climbing it between home and work every day. 

always gonna be another mountain...

the green begins...

big deb tests out the twisty twist.

Tim was extremely impressed with Mom and Dad's fitness over the entire 4 hour hike which included some amazing views, snack parties, gale force winds, and eventually a summit. 

(I, on the other hand am very familiar with their athletic prowess and was not surprised as I'm usually the one getting tired before they are ready to call it a day.)

M&D check out the view.

making our way...

snack party on the rocks. shaken, not stirred.

gale force winds. 

BFF 4 life.

family photo.

debabeb and bobadob gaze upon our little city.

We were all pretty tuckered after the adventure up and down the mountain, so we made our way to Gwangali beach for some supper with a view.

being as cool as possible.

pre-sup family shot on Gwangan beach

The next day, we headed out to the temple by the sea ( Yonggunsa ) which is just outside of Busan. Tim and I hadn't been there before, so getting there was a bit convoluted, but what isn't, when living in Korea?   

I'd heard great things about this temple, and not to say I was disappointed, but the grounds were being prepared for Buddha's Birthday, an upcoming holiday, so there were many lights being strung around, making the temple appear a bit... ugly, for lack of a better word.  Fortunately I have X-Ray vision and could see past these eyesores to the beauty of the ocean and cliffs at the site.

At the entrance to the temple were 12 statues representing the 12 year cycle.  There were many coins placed on each statue, so I put a few won on the statue of my year: the rat. 

statues of the 12 years.

Tim hopes for some Buddhist luck.

le view.

baby buddhas.

Dad stands amidst the lights.

 Also, I accomplished an amazing feat when I threw a 100won coin into a very small bowl while I stood on a bridge 50 feet away. People clapped. 

one shot. 

After the temple, we took a walk and a cab to Songjeong beach, about 3km away.  
If Haeundae beach is a 19 year old party girl with a million friends, then Songjeong is her MUCH cooler, down to earth older brother with nothing to prove - even if he is harder to get to. 

our new summer home. 

The beach was gorgeous, much wider than Haeundae, with enough shops and restaurants to make it comfortable, but no where near the amount of people at Haeundae and surely the water must be cleaner. 

We had some sandwiches while watching the surfers in the little waves, and then walked along a path at the east end of the beach which I can only call 'mini Dongbaek' because I don't know its name. 

oh little debbie.

view of Songjeong from mini dongbaek.

oh hi Mom!

Sunday afternoon traffic was horrendous as usual, so we ended up walking a few kilometres before catching a cab, then the subway to Haeundae.  We went home for a small nap, then I returned to M&D for a delicious supper at Outback while Tim met up with his visiting cousin, Adam. 

Mom and I at Outback.

 A typical Korean morning. 

Throughout the week Tim and I both work fairly late ( 7 or 8pm) so most of our time with Mom and Dad was for suppers.  However, I did have a little sleepover in the Grand Hotel on Tuesday which allowed me to wake up in Haeundae for a little run on the beach.  

As per their request, we took M&D out for a 'Korean' meal on Tuesday evening.  Amazingly, Dad ate two (mini) plates of the fare and even said it was 'tasty'!  The meal was 'dak galbi' which is chicken with rice, red pepper sauce, cabbage and other deliciousness, fried at the table in front of you.

Dak galbi.

 We took a stroll post-dinner to the local mall, where Mom sniffed out a book store and we ended up eating some gelatos in the basement. 

Mom in her element... but lost in translation.

enjoying some gelato.  most of us.

M&D outside the hotel.

 Our final dinner was at the hotel buffet - an amazing spread of any food you could ever imagine, complete with a cookie bridge.  After some sad goodbyes, we left Mom and Dad to get some sleep before their morning flight and waved goodbye to them from the street where we could see them standing in their hotel room window.

thank you Mom and Dad!

Thank you Grand Hotel Buffet!

a cookie-fied representation of Gwangan bridge

enjoying the lobby - before we got kicked out.

one more family shot! (WITH a flash)

can you see them?

Tim and I both really appreciated the time and effort they took to come such a long way to visit, and are proud of them for making it through an experience that is incredibly trying at times but pretty much always worth it:)


This weekend, we are off to a small town called Jinju for a race on Sunday.  We will both be running the 5km event, a first for me in Korea. 


Results to come soon......


Post script: I've received word that the parental unit has arrived home safely in Fredericton:)