In one of my previous posts I mentioned the cata de vinos and how I decided to run before the cata anticipating that I wouldn´t want to run my five mile recovery run if I didn´t run before I went to the festival. It was a good thing that I did run before the cata because there would have been no way in hell I would have been able to run after the cata. What I didn´t anticipate is how it would affect me the next day. All I know is I got home before sundown and I woke up butt naked in a bed with no sheets at 3:30 a.m. wondering where I was (the bed had no sheets because they were being hung to dry in the house). The good thing was I was at home butt naked in MY bed, bad thing is I wasn´t really up to running 17 miles (27.2 km) that day. So I switched with Tuesday and only ran 7 miles.
Another lesson learned I guess...
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Why GHA?
Someone asked me the other day the simple question, why? Why are you doing this for GHA and not a different non profit. What is your motivation? The simple answer is I´m going to be working for GHA starting June 17th when my plane departs from Madrid and arrives Guatemala city thirty hours later. The more complicated answer starts when I was just a little 4th grader delivering newspapers... Here we go...
Before the Bellingham Herald changed my schedule from day shifts to morning shifts I would come home from school to find a large stack of newspapers waiting for me at my doorstep. There were somewhere around 35 newspapers I had to roll and wrap, turning my hands black from the ink. I checked my route to make sure no one cancelled or if I had another home, put on the fashionable newspaper bag holder and off I went. Like most classic newspaper delivering stories I was harassed by a gigantic terrifying dog with a bark that would make you crap yourself. I remember like it was yesterday when this Burmese mountain dog mix came up to me, standing almost eye to eye. I knew better to run from a dog, but I remember it being a terrifying experience. His name is Buster and his irresponsible owner who lets his dog scare children is named Syd. I was welcomed to his home to meet the dog. I've always been one to work, and he employed me to work in his garden and other odd jobs around the house. That's how the relationship began.
There's much more to the story. Stay tuned
Before the Bellingham Herald changed my schedule from day shifts to morning shifts I would come home from school to find a large stack of newspapers waiting for me at my doorstep. There were somewhere around 35 newspapers I had to roll and wrap, turning my hands black from the ink. I checked my route to make sure no one cancelled or if I had another home, put on the fashionable newspaper bag holder and off I went. Like most classic newspaper delivering stories I was harassed by a gigantic terrifying dog with a bark that would make you crap yourself. I remember like it was yesterday when this Burmese mountain dog mix came up to me, standing almost eye to eye. I knew better to run from a dog, but I remember it being a terrifying experience. His name is Buster and his irresponsible owner who lets his dog scare children is named Syd. I was welcomed to his home to meet the dog. I've always been one to work, and he employed me to work in his garden and other odd jobs around the house. That's how the relationship began.
There's much more to the story. Stay tuned
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Bets are on!
Javi left a comment saying that he bets I can't run the marathon in 3 hours and 45 minutes. So, how much is that bet? For every one minute I get below 3.45 I get 7 euros from you? I encourage people to make these types of bets because it gives me incentive to train harder, and makes it a bit competitive which I always like.
Training is going well. I've been keeping up with my workout schedule this week and plan on going for a five mile run today, which I better do soon because I'm planning on going to the cata del vinos today. Cata del vinos (wine tasting) is a neat festival event in Córdoba where you pay an entrance fee of 7 euros, and in return they give you a wine glass and enough tickets for five glasses of wine or a whole bottle of your choice. There is a wide selection of wines that are new to me, such as finos and vino dulces (sweet wines). I like the sweet wine, but the finos smell too much like paté to me. There are also tents that sell delicious food like cochifrito (fried pork) and jamón serano. I better go run, because I don´t imagine I´ll want to run drunk and full even if it´s only five miles. Today is the short run because tomorrow I'm going to run 17 miles. I would tell you how fast I complete those 17 miles but inside betting is illegal!
Future plans for the blog:
I intend to keep this blog going after the marathon while I am working in Guatemala so that you can all read and see where your generous donations are going!
Paco has does some investigating and found that the Córdoba airplane was 300,000 Euros! Check our some of the videos of the airplane and news article here.
I would like to thank Nancy for sending me the blog post. That was very kind of her. Safe travels Nancy!
Training is going well. I've been keeping up with my workout schedule this week and plan on going for a five mile run today, which I better do soon because I'm planning on going to the cata del vinos today. Cata del vinos (wine tasting) is a neat festival event in Córdoba where you pay an entrance fee of 7 euros, and in return they give you a wine glass and enough tickets for five glasses of wine or a whole bottle of your choice. There is a wide selection of wines that are new to me, such as finos and vino dulces (sweet wines). I like the sweet wine, but the finos smell too much like paté to me. There are also tents that sell delicious food like cochifrito (fried pork) and jamón serano. I better go run, because I don´t imagine I´ll want to run drunk and full even if it´s only five miles. Today is the short run because tomorrow I'm going to run 17 miles. I would tell you how fast I complete those 17 miles but inside betting is illegal!
Future plans for the blog:
I intend to keep this blog going after the marathon while I am working in Guatemala so that you can all read and see where your generous donations are going!
Paco has does some investigating and found that the Córdoba airplane was 300,000 Euros! Check our some of the videos of the airplane and news article here.
I would like to thank Nancy for sending me the blog post. That was very kind of her. Safe travels Nancy!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Guest Speaker by one of the founders of GHA, Nancy!
Nancy is one of the founders of GHA. She is currently working in Guatemala. Here´s what she has to say.
Hello friends,...an update...
San Pablo is a town of 7600 on the south shore of the beautiful Lago Atitlan. All here are indigenous Tz'utujil maya. There is not a bank here, or ATM, or even a restaurant; such is the economy. San Pablo is the poorest, least developed town around the lake. The coffee has just begun to bloom, and the avacado harvest has started. Our waking view is of volcanos and lake, flowers and banana trees. Tz'utujil is one of over 50 mayan languages spoken in Guatemala. Some people speak Spanish as well, a language learned in order to unite and defend themselves during the genocide that robbed some 200-250,000 indigenous lives. The mayans are at the bottom of the economy here. Agrarian workers, campesinos, when there is work available, earn 25-30 quetzales a day...less than $4.
We are here birthing an organization...known in English as Guatemala Housing Alliance (GHA), and in Spanish as Constryendo Alianzas...Building Alliances. Within a few days we'll complete our second house. It is humble---15x18', 2 rooms---but for a family that now lives in a home made of cornstalks. Apolonia, the mother in the family, is particularly happy for the security she will finally have, with a strong, locking door. Now she can't leave home all day, having to stay to guard the little they own: a radio, blankets, pots, and a pile of dried corn in the corner. They have been robbed a couple of times.
Soon they will have a cement floor to replace the dirt one that turns muddy with the rain. Everyone's health will improve. There will be fewer parasites and the resulting anemia and diarrhea. Studies show that a student´s health improves so much from a cement floor that their grades improve on average 9%.
Moises is the father, and remains extremely poor although he works hard in the steep mountain fields. He is a really sweet guy. And strong. I've seen him carry 8 cement blocks on his back wearing a tump strap. The families we'll help with construction are responsible for getting materials to the site. In this case, that will be over 700 blocks and 50 bags of cement and many cubic yards of sand and gravel....all carried the equivilant of a city block along a path through the high coffee bushes.
It sems an incredible honor to be here. Mac and I are the only foreigners about. We soak in the smiles as we walk up the mountain to work each morning, passing produce and firewood vendors, and children on their way to school.
Many can´t go to school for lack of funds. Fees, books, and uniforms are required. Another ambition of GHA is offering scholarships. This year our fledgling org has granted 31, all to children living in extreme poverty (less than $1/day per person in household)., most with single parents, a couple with none. Last weekend they all gathereed for 1 of 2 lake clean-ups they'll do this year as partial requirement for receiving the funds. 14 of the kids lost their homes and all belongings last year in landslides during tropical storm Agatha. One mom told me that her kids' receipt of the scholarships was what gave her the will to go on.
So we begin, with baby steps, guided every step of the way by strong mayan women leaders in the community. We hope in the near future to build with compressed stabilized earth blocks, building beautiful home both durable and sustainable.
happily here, happily yours,
nance
Hello friends,...an update...
San Pablo is a town of 7600 on the south shore of the beautiful Lago Atitlan. All here are indigenous Tz'utujil maya. There is not a bank here, or ATM, or even a restaurant; such is the economy. San Pablo is the poorest, least developed town around the lake. The coffee has just begun to bloom, and the avacado harvest has started. Our waking view is of volcanos and lake, flowers and banana trees. Tz'utujil is one of over 50 mayan languages spoken in Guatemala. Some people speak Spanish as well, a language learned in order to unite and defend themselves during the genocide that robbed some 200-250,000 indigenous lives. The mayans are at the bottom of the economy here. Agrarian workers, campesinos, when there is work available, earn 25-30 quetzales a day...less than $4.
We are here birthing an organization...known in English as Guatemala Housing Alliance (GHA), and in Spanish as Constryendo Alianzas...Building Alliances. Within a few days we'll complete our second house. It is humble---15x18', 2 rooms---but for a family that now lives in a home made of cornstalks. Apolonia, the mother in the family, is particularly happy for the security she will finally have, with a strong, locking door. Now she can't leave home all day, having to stay to guard the little they own: a radio, blankets, pots, and a pile of dried corn in the corner. They have been robbed a couple of times.
Soon they will have a cement floor to replace the dirt one that turns muddy with the rain. Everyone's health will improve. There will be fewer parasites and the resulting anemia and diarrhea. Studies show that a student´s health improves so much from a cement floor that their grades improve on average 9%.
Moises is the father, and remains extremely poor although he works hard in the steep mountain fields. He is a really sweet guy. And strong. I've seen him carry 8 cement blocks on his back wearing a tump strap. The families we'll help with construction are responsible for getting materials to the site. In this case, that will be over 700 blocks and 50 bags of cement and many cubic yards of sand and gravel....all carried the equivilant of a city block along a path through the high coffee bushes.
It sems an incredible honor to be here. Mac and I are the only foreigners about. We soak in the smiles as we walk up the mountain to work each morning, passing produce and firewood vendors, and children on their way to school.
Many can´t go to school for lack of funds. Fees, books, and uniforms are required. Another ambition of GHA is offering scholarships. This year our fledgling org has granted 31, all to children living in extreme poverty (less than $1/day per person in household)., most with single parents, a couple with none. Last weekend they all gathereed for 1 of 2 lake clean-ups they'll do this year as partial requirement for receiving the funds. 14 of the kids lost their homes and all belongings last year in landslides during tropical storm Agatha. One mom told me that her kids' receipt of the scholarships was what gave her the will to go on.
So we begin, with baby steps, guided every step of the way by strong mayan women leaders in the community. We hope in the near future to build with compressed stabilized earth blocks, building beautiful home both durable and sustainable.
happily here, happily yours,
nance
Friday, April 13, 2012
Spanish ¨pork¨
The training is starting to get a bit difficult. Instead of one long run a week my stupid chart is asking me to do two long runs a week. Today I ran for one hour and fifty two minutes, a distance of 14 miles, or according to my super high tech watch 1500 calories worth of running. The chart says this Sunday I need to run 17 miles. I´m beginning to dislike my chart. I mean really, it´s on my fridge staring at me every time I go to get some food, and now that it tells me I need to run more I´m eating a lot more, which means I´m reminded over and over again about the long runs on Thursdays and Sundays. Damn you chart!
For those who don´t know me, which I´m sure just about everyone who visits this blog does, I like politics. I studied them at UCSD and I continue following them even though it does me no good other than it makes me laugh from time to time. If you look back to the pictures I took the other day during my run you will see a picture of an airplane. You might ask yourself why there´s such a big old airplane in the middle of the park? Well I´ll tell you... Every so many years Europe chooses a city to be the cultural capital of Europe. If a city is granted with this title they get money to restore historic relics. Córdoba´s government got the idea to advertise on the airplane, Córdoba 2016 Cultural Capital of Europe. There are two reasons I find this funny. 1. Córdoba has an airport that was built for commercial flights, but after a short period of time they realized it was losing a lot of money and was forced to close. Not only that, Córdoba has nothing to do with the history of airplanes. 2. Córdoba lost their bid to be the cultural capital. I don´t mean to be offensive to this great city that has a very important historic and cultural heritage, but in comparison to all the other cities who have won this award I would say there wasn`t much of a chance. Now Córdoba has an airplane in the middle of a park doing nothing and that says something irrelevant. It´s only going to cost more money to turn it into something useful or to get rid of it. Talk about a waste of money!
For those who don´t know me, which I´m sure just about everyone who visits this blog does, I like politics. I studied them at UCSD and I continue following them even though it does me no good other than it makes me laugh from time to time. If you look back to the pictures I took the other day during my run you will see a picture of an airplane. You might ask yourself why there´s such a big old airplane in the middle of the park? Well I´ll tell you... Every so many years Europe chooses a city to be the cultural capital of Europe. If a city is granted with this title they get money to restore historic relics. Córdoba´s government got the idea to advertise on the airplane, Córdoba 2016 Cultural Capital of Europe. There are two reasons I find this funny. 1. Córdoba has an airport that was built for commercial flights, but after a short period of time they realized it was losing a lot of money and was forced to close. Not only that, Córdoba has nothing to do with the history of airplanes. 2. Córdoba lost their bid to be the cultural capital. I don´t mean to be offensive to this great city that has a very important historic and cultural heritage, but in comparison to all the other cities who have won this award I would say there wasn`t much of a chance. Now Córdoba has an airplane in the middle of a park doing nothing and that says something irrelevant. It´s only going to cost more money to turn it into something useful or to get rid of it. Talk about a waste of money!
Monday, April 9, 2012
Sunday´s long run
Lesson learned. Don´t eat a hamburger for lunch if your going to run 12 miles the same day. It was horrible! Within the first 15 minutes I was suffering, (not exaggerating), and did what I promise myself I wouldn´t do, stop. I thought to myself that I should just go home and run early Monday morning. After about five minutes of walking I started to jog lightly and when I arrived home I was feeling o.k. so I convinced myself to keep going because who knows, this might happen during the race. It was an agonizing 7 more miles, but I did take advantage of the situation. I stopped for a second to take pictures with my Itouch (apple you can send me a donation for the advertising, your stocks are looking pretty good these days...). One of the pictures I took is of a statue that I think resembles the man on the cover of Ann Rands book, alas shrugged. The photo's caption reads "Barak's worst enemy," and that's because my dog, Barak Obama, is scared to come near the damn statue. One time when I wasn't paying much attention he almost knocked me over trying to run away from it. My precious but temperamental perro is not what you would call a people person. He's scared that everyone is out to get em'. Not from how I have treated him of course, but from his unknown dark past in the doggy pound. Who knows what they did to him......
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Meeting a running partner
The other week I was at the park with the dog letting him do his things before we began to run when I started talking to an acquaintance, Pedro. He began by asking me about running and I mentioned that I´m training to run a marathon. Turns out he has ran quite a few marathons and asked if I wanted to join him and his friend the following morning. Last week I ran with them three times. It was nice because they showed me other routes I can take around the city, and I realized how nice it was running early in the morning because there was hardly any traffic. I need to remember to take some pictures because some of the scenery was really nice as we cross the river.
He told me about a race in Ronda, Spain where he ran/walked a 100 Km race! That´s 62.5 miles! He told me it was a bit ridiculous and that when he finished his feet were just one big blister. I don´t think you could donate enough money for me to do that!
He told me about a race in Ronda, Spain where he ran/walked a 100 Km race! That´s 62.5 miles! He told me it was a bit ridiculous and that when he finished his feet were just one big blister. I don´t think you could donate enough money for me to do that!
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
My first post...
It's week five and training seems to be going well; at least according to the schedule I'm following. It says that I'll be prepared on time, but I don't know how much I believe this one piece of paper since running a hour and forty minutes seems like an eternity. I can hardly imagine running three and half to four hours!
While I smoked (I haven't had a cigarette for six weeks now) I ran, but just not very far. My usual run was two and a half miles to the park and back. It was my lungs that always tired me first, taking rapid deep breaths to try to get oxygen into my lungs never seemed enough and I would always stop at 2.5 miles. Now it's my muscles that tire and tell me to stop. What am I trying to say.... This might sound a bit crazy, but I think smoking 10-15 cigarettes a day for seven years and running 2.5 miles every once in a while will make running long distances while not smoking seem like a piece of cake. Seriously, I feel great when I'm running (most of the time). It's encouraging to run with such ease. For this reason and the fundraising aspect of this marathon keeps me from smoking again. I would prescribe a marathon for anyone who wants to quit.
While I smoked (I haven't had a cigarette for six weeks now) I ran, but just not very far. My usual run was two and a half miles to the park and back. It was my lungs that always tired me first, taking rapid deep breaths to try to get oxygen into my lungs never seemed enough and I would always stop at 2.5 miles. Now it's my muscles that tire and tell me to stop. What am I trying to say.... This might sound a bit crazy, but I think smoking 10-15 cigarettes a day for seven years and running 2.5 miles every once in a while will make running long distances while not smoking seem like a piece of cake. Seriously, I feel great when I'm running (most of the time). It's encouraging to run with such ease. For this reason and the fundraising aspect of this marathon keeps me from smoking again. I would prescribe a marathon for anyone who wants to quit.
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