Where to begin... Have you seen the new pictures I posted? There are a few pictures of home #2 that was recently completed as well as some photo's depicting the living conditions of the family who will potentially live in home #3! I also posted a picture of me and my girlfriend Rocio, the beautiful courageous women who will be joining me in Guatemala. Her knowledge as an agricultural engineer will be put to good use in Guatemala, and she will be a great help to GHA! I'm an incredibly lucky man to have her at my side.
This week is the most difficult week of training. Total, I'll be running 43 miles or 68.8 km. It's going to be a long week... After this week it gets easier and easier until the marathon. This three months of training is going fast! Only a little more than three weeks left!
Not only is the marathon coming up soon but also the time I depart to Guatemala. This week I need to buy a cage for my dog so that I can take him on the plane. Another possibility is a company that might transport him from Spain to Guatemala. Does anyone know of a company that does that?
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Thursday, May 3, 2012
New Toys and my Longest Run EVER
I got a new toy! It's a Garmin Forerunner 405 CX. This watch tracks my time, heart rate, but most importantly it has GPS capabilities and tells me how far I've ran. It tells me things that are disappointing to know like what I thought was a seven mile loop was really a 6.6 miles loop, thus during my long runs I've been off .8 miles. It syncs wireless to my computer and upload the data and then the online program spits out a graph plotting all my stats and also a map of where I ran. It also tells me my elevation which is interesting when I look at how it has affected my speed. Thanks uncle!
I ran 18 miles on Monday and in all honesty I felt pretty miserable. I think it could be due to the course I ran (part of it had a lot of hills) and the prior four days of over eating and drinking with relatives who came to visit from Washington (not complaining one bit). Once my watch said 18 miles I just went straight to the ground to stop the burning, unfortunately to no avail. I stretched well and then went to shower. Rocio came in the bathroom and found me in the fetal position holding the shower head over me with one hand. She laughed while I was telling her to be quite and that I was in pain. No sympathy what so ever.
After the shower we went out to dinner with my aunt and uncle and their friends who were in town. The glass of wine eased the pain and at least for the time that I was sitting I had forgotten about the lactic acid in my legs. Today was my first run since the long run on Monday. A quick five miles. I'm feelin pretty good now... I'll be ready to run 20!!!!
I ran 18 miles on Monday and in all honesty I felt pretty miserable. I think it could be due to the course I ran (part of it had a lot of hills) and the prior four days of over eating and drinking with relatives who came to visit from Washington (not complaining one bit). Once my watch said 18 miles I just went straight to the ground to stop the burning, unfortunately to no avail. I stretched well and then went to shower. Rocio came in the bathroom and found me in the fetal position holding the shower head over me with one hand. She laughed while I was telling her to be quite and that I was in pain. No sympathy what so ever.
After the shower we went out to dinner with my aunt and uncle and their friends who were in town. The glass of wine eased the pain and at least for the time that I was sitting I had forgotten about the lactic acid in my legs. Today was my first run since the long run on Monday. A quick five miles. I'm feelin pretty good now... I'll be ready to run 20!!!!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Why GHA part II
I had very little contact with Syd throughout high school. Toward the end of my senior year I was thinking about my best options for work during the summer. One day when I passed Syd´s house on my drive to school in my little grey hatchback 1989 ford Festiva I was reminded that Syd had his own construction company. After school I decided to visit and ask for work. For two reasons it was a very memorable experience. Not only did I get a job for the summer helping build a portable building for Linden high school I was also bitten by his new dog. Although I left his house in pain I was also smiling.
I was tired of school so I quit to go to work for Matrix Service, an industrial contracting company. The job was in Shell's oil refinery and my responsibility was tracking job costs. The hours were long 12 hour days 6 days sometimes 7 days a week. After the job I was sitting on what I considered a small fortune of $3,000, but with nothing to do. I went to Syd's and asked him for some advice. He asked me why I don't travel Guatemala saying that it was a beautiful country with lots to see, and that my $3,000 could last me a long time. That evening we went upstairs to his office to purchase the ticket. In February 2005 I went to Guatemala for three months. My life would never be the same.
I was tired of school so I quit to go to work for Matrix Service, an industrial contracting company. The job was in Shell's oil refinery and my responsibility was tracking job costs. The hours were long 12 hour days 6 days sometimes 7 days a week. After the job I was sitting on what I considered a small fortune of $3,000, but with nothing to do. I went to Syd's and asked him for some advice. He asked me why I don't travel Guatemala saying that it was a beautiful country with lots to see, and that my $3,000 could last me a long time. That evening we went upstairs to his office to purchase the ticket. In February 2005 I went to Guatemala for three months. My life would never be the same.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Another lesson learned
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...
Another lesson learned I guess...
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
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