I did it!

Now I can say I ran a marathon!  It took 3 hours 55 minutes and 58 seconds.  I beat my goal of four hours.  I'm happy with the results.

So what's it like running a marathon?

More exciting and painful than I imagined.  It was very pleasant for the first 23 miles or so.  It's a big event with a lot of people in the street.  There´s a sort of energy and excitement you get from all the commotion and the special access to the city.  Especially a city as beautiful as Bilbao.  I wish I took more pictures, but the majority of the city was seen as I was running.  The race started in downtown and made its way down the river to the old industrial zone of the city of old worn down warehouses with broken windows.  We crossed a bridge to the other side of the river and then followed it up to where I saw a historical bridge that transports people across the river in a vessel suspended by cables connected to the bridge above.  Before we started heading back towards downtown we were running on the boardwalk where old mansions and homes face the ocean.  Many people on the boardwalk were clapping and saying words of encouragement as you passed by.

After mile 23 it was quite dreadful.  My legs were on fire and didn´t want to keep the pace.  My average 8 minute and 30 second mile plummeted to a 11 minute mile by mile 25.  I stopped twice to walk for about 20 seconds or so, but quickly realized I was just prolonging the inevitable.  I was going to finish.  Plus it made things more difficult.  Once your start walking you then want to stop entirely, but then when you start running again it´s more painful than if you just kept going in the first place.

Coming around the last corner and seeing the finish line was a feeling of relief and joy.  Relief that it was over and joy that I just accomplished a difficult feat.  I would like the express my gratitude to everyone who has read my blog and shown their support.  I hope you all find gratification in supporting charitable works such as GHA.  For me this has been a very special experience.  A special thanks to Rocio for making Bilbao a wonderful trip; for being my encouragement and support while I was there and throughout the whole training process.

There will be more posts soon!  Don´t disconnect just yet!   

How to let your voice be heard

The marathon starts in exactly 9.5 hours.  I need encouragement.  Luckily for you this is very easy.  If you are an American then you already know your voice is equivalent to money; if you don't believe me just ask our supreme court.  When I see donations and your name next to it I can hear your voice loud and clear saying "I know you can do it!",   Everything helps.  Thank you so much for your support and wish me luck on my run! 

I'll be posting some pictures on Sunday or Monday of the beautiful trip in País Vasco and of the run!      

Barak's take on running

I'm a bit weary of my owner these days.  I don't know if he's calling me to go do what we normally go do or if he's going to drag me along on one of his "runs."  Seriously, it has to be one of the most senseless things I've seen him do.  He yells at me when I chase my tail, while he frequently goes outside to run in circles for long periods of time.  I really don't see much of a difference.    

Consequences of Training

I'm not a doctor but I don't think marathons are the healthiest thing you can be doing for your body.  After my long run what hurt most were my joins and my feet.  I know running on the sidewalk is probably the worst for my joints, unfortunately I don't have much of a choice, but when there is grass lining the sidewalk I run on that instead.  Still, it doesn't completely prevent joint pain. 

I can't believe it's already May 19th.  That means we have to move out of our flat within a week and a half, and a few days after that drive north to Bilbao for the marathon.  Yesterday we made reservations for a place to stay.  We are going to start the twelve hour drive to Bilbao Thursday night and start driving back Sunday afternoon when I finish with the marathon.  Barak will be coming along for the ride as well, but will be sleeping in the car. 

I've been told the first three objectives when I get to Guatemala.  First we need to find a place for me to live that is also be suitable for our office.   I will be meeting with our local connections, and most exciting, I'll be building home #3 within the first week of arrival!  This blog will continue as GHA's blog where you can follow our projects and experiences!  Maybe it will encourage you to come volunteer and build a home : ) 

I want to start translating this blog into Spanish.  If anyone is interested in helping me out with this please write me an email with your expressed interest!  

Downhill from here!!!

I woke up this morning at 4:45 and was out the door running by 4:50.  It's the first time I've run so early in the morning and I think I'm going do it more often.  It was so quiet and peaceful that I wasn't listening to music until cars started to be on the road around 6:45.  The moon was out, the birds where chirping, and there wasn't anyone on the sidewalk I had to dodge.  Another benefit is I never run with my shirt off because I kinda feel like a douche, (no offense to anyone who does) but I did this time until people were on the streets.  The cool 61 degrees with my shirt off felt amazing compared to the 95 degree mid day temperature with my shirt on.   
One thing that was annoying is it was still early enough that when I crossed the bridge there were bats flying all over the place eating their final meal before they went to bed.  It made me a bit nervous running with bats flying past my head every two seconds. 
I ran the furthest that my training schedule requires of me until the marathon, 20 miles!  It's downhill from here baby!  I felt a lot better afterwards in comparison to my 18 miles run.  Reasons I believe why: yesterday I drank A LOT of water, for dinner I ate a big plate of, ok this is going to sound weird, garbanzo beans sauteed in A LOT of olive oil with onions, garlic, scrambled egg, and curry powder.
A convenient thing about running in Cordoba is all the water fountains sparsely placed around the city.  I don't have to worry about carrying any water with me!
Check out some of the new pics I posted!!!  

Movin along

I need to make some adjustments to GHA's description.  First adjustment is that the last house actually cost a little shy of $2,300, not $3,000.  Description of the last home built: Apolonia's new home has 2 rooms. It provides much more protection against the elements than their older home. A nice cement floor, more than just a convenience, it reduces parasites and anemia. A locking door, and 3 windows, one overlooking the beautiful Lago de Atitlan. GHA worked along with the family!  This description came from facebook, so I encourage everyone to follow GHA by clicking here. I hope we're not installing those doors that lock automatically.  I don't like that my door locks without me locking it.  A couple weeks ago I had to ask my neighbors if they would let me on their balcony so that I could climb over to mine because I locked myself out, for the second time.  I'm sure a locksmith in Guatemala would charge quite a bit to hike out to their home....     
I've encountered a problem...  My dog is too big for any kennels I've found online and at the veterinarian hospital.  Technically he needs to be able to sit and not have his ears touch the top of the cage.  The vets. advice is that I'll be ok.  Besides that I'm looking for a bigger suitcase to carry my stuff to Guatemala.  I ran 12 miles on Friday, took the day off on Saturday, and I'm going to run 5 today.  The big 20 miles is tomorrow.  I'm not really looking forward to it to be honest, it's getting hot here now.  Tomorrow is suppose to get up to 95 degrees with a low of 71 degrees at 3 in the morning!  I'll let you know how it goes.  Or maybe I won't.  I may die from heat stroke.  So if I don't blog anything by next Wednesday you'll know what happened.   

Why GHA, Part III

I came back from Guatemala in early May of 2005 excited to tell everyone about my trip only to find out that no one really cared, expressed by some relatives, "welcome back to reality, it might be difficult getting use to it."  Of course my friends were interested about the trip; for about two minutes until they wanted to talk about something else.  It only took a few days before my excitement to come back home diminish and the "traveler itch" started manifesting itself.  The trip opened my eyes to things I've never seen, heard, or really understood.  Poverty of course is the most apparent thing you first notice leaving the airport, but there was more people were talking about.  Remember, I went on this trip alone with a small backpack with sandals tied to it and a lonely planet; with no plans, only to take a taxi to Antigua with the little Spanish I learned from two years in high school (trust me, that's not much). I was talking with strangers from all over the world and eventually once I could speak a bit with Guatemalans.  People discussed the history of the country such as the Guatemalan civil war that lasted from 1960-1996, politics, and culture.  This had a lasting affect on me and influenced what I would study when I decided to return to college.   Traveling by yourself is something I think everyone should do before going to college.

I wanted to travel more but unfortunately I was broke.  Luckily for me I found work. I was hired by Syd again to help build his new home on his blueberry farm.  I was there from the beginning; from transplanting the blueberries, pouring the foundation, to installing the roof. He taught me as much as I could absorb, even the importance of investing, making me purchase my own tools with a certain percent of my check he withheld.  Then I started working in the oil refineries again where I learned the basics of accountancy and book keeping.  Both of these job experiences will serve me well in Guatemala in the office manager/ project director position.

After some traveling to Europe and working in long beach CA I decided to go back to school at the age of 21.  I started in Boston, moved to San Luis Obispo, and finally graduated from UC San Diego with a degree in International political science/history with a regional focus in Latin America.  During my time at UCSD I went to Spain to study abroad in order to improve my Spain and that's when I met Rocio.  I moved Cordoba after graduation to teach English and be with her. 

So why GHA?  Why Guatemala?  Because at this point in my life it seems that everything I've done has prepared/led me to make this decision to work for GHA.  From my experience building homes, my trip to Guatemala, my almost fluent Spanish speaking skills, my office experience, and specialized knowledge of politics and history of the region are all skills that I will utilize in Guatemala.  What's even better.....  It's a beautiful thing we're doing at the lake.  Because although I won't make enough money to pay down my $18,500 in school loan during my time at GHA, seeing the faces of the families who receive the homes that we build, and the excitement of the children going to school who once couldn't...  It's enough for me.  Please, support us any way you can.  We will put that support to good use.  (Like us on Facebook, tell your friends, donations)