Fundraising

With your help I raised about £500 for Goodenough College. This is not final, as the fundraising goes on for one more month. The money goes for bursaries and the average bursary is around £750. Let’s hope that we can raise £250 more so that one student can be helped.

Thank you all for your generosity!  

The London Marathon

This was it! It happened on Sunday and I’ve done it! I managed to complete the 26 miles in 6 hours 5 minutes and 7 seconds. It was an amazing experience and I loved it all. The bottom line is that I want to keep running. Looking back it strikes me as a life changing experience.

Back in September when I started to train with Marsha, I could only run for 3 minutes in a row and I hated every second of it. My lungs were revolting against this type of exercise, my legs were in dismay and mind kept on coming back to the same question: why do I do this to myself?

On Sunday the 22^nd of April I ran for about 13 miles without even feeling it and walked most of the second half of the marathon. There were few doubts in my mind about whether or not I could complete the race. That is not to say that I was certain about finishing. Far from me! I only knew that there was one way to go about it and that was to run mile after mile. My mantra during the entire race was to keep going and push it a little bit further.

Strangely I found it easy to run and walk. Despite the pain, that was not the main problem. What was almost impossible and took every bit of strength in my body was…eating. I hated every bite of those energy bars, but I knew that the effort would pay back. It did after mile 20, when I started to feel energized again. I do not know if it was the food or the fact that there were only 6 miles left, but I think that was the moment of truth. At mile 20 it suddenly crossed my mind that it might take me about one hour and a half to finish. It was the most realistic insight I had in about four hours.

Mile 20 was also a milestone because I met the Goodenough crew. They were cheering and waving and looked to happy and so encouraging that I almost cried. I ran the last 6 miles with their smiles in my mind and their hugs in my soul. They reminded me why I decided to do this in the first place and what the Goodenough community meant for me. Thank you guys for being there and thank you all for following me on the internet, cheering from home or from the streets, donating money and supporting me in every possible way!

A bit more to go and my half marathon

Only 11 days to go till the big day of the Marathon. I am starting to get excited (and scared at the same time. I have not quite figured out yet how these two work together). In the meantime I do the best I can to keep fit and positive. There is not much running around these days, just a bit to keep my legs on track. I did a few k in the morning and a few in the evening. It seems strange, almost as if my body does not want to move anymore. At least not before the big show. It must be related to my half marathon experience.

On the 25^th of March I went to Hastings for a half marathon. I have no doubts that this was one of the greatest days of my life. Before the day, I had not given too much thought to the race. As a real novice, I had not even checked the route, leaving everything to the last minute. So, it was a blast to see that Hastings was quite hilly and more than half of the route was running up the hill. In the end it did not matter, because I managed to finish the fist 20 something k of my life in a rather decent time for my standards: 2:35:30.

The experience was fantastic because of two main reasons: Marsha Providence and the energy of the street. Marsha was again my guarding angel. Her kindness and generosity are far beyond what I can describe! She woke up on a Sunday morning and travelled to Hastings with me, greeted me at the finish line, walked around with me, stretched with me and even asked people for chocolate to feed me. We finished our day in a Mexican restaurant in Charing Cross (thanks Javier for recommending it a million years ago).Thank you Marsha!

The other reason that made my day special was the incredible energy of the street. Frankly, I had never thought that I would be able to run so far. In fact if someone would have asked me to do it a year ago, I would have just laughed. In Hastings though, for the first time in my life it crossed my mind that maybe I could actually do that. It was probably the sun, the people cheering on the streets, the smell of the salty water, the oranges and the sweets given by the locals. It was that feeling of pure happiness when crossing the finish line, such happiness that literally took my breath away for a second.  I don’t know what it was, but if the London Marathon is half as good as Hastings experience then it is worth all the training and all the pain. Look forward to this one!

The marathon poster

The temptations of quitting smoking

As running and smoking don’t really go together, I decided to quit. Smoking not running! Today I went out to buy my last pack of cigarettes. Here is the conversation between me and the guy who sells cigarettes at a small shop by the LSE.

Me: A ten Marlborough Lights please.

Him: Why not a 20?

Me: Well, I am trying to quit…

Him: Why m’am?

Me: Well, you know it’s healthier…

Him: Nooooooo m’am!!!! Everybody dies!!!

Me: But maybe one dies later, if one does not smoke?

Him (very convinced): Noooo m’am!!! My grandfather never ever smoked and he died very young. Very very young!

Me (with hope): Oh, so you are a smoker too?

Him: Nooooo m’am! Never smoked! But that does not matter! We all have to die sooner or later!

Me: I think I will stick to my 10…

Him: Please don’t quit! My boss will think I do not do a good job here – not selling enough merchandise…

Me: Always glad to help :)

Him: Thank you! Have a nice evening m’am! Enjoy your cigarettes!

Leaving the shop I had a good feeling as if I’ve done something really good today. What would that be?

Great news courtesy of the London Marathon team

http://www.marathonnewstv.com/?f=Roxana&l=Bratu&ch=Goodenough&n=1

Joy ride

After many days (and nights) thinking and moaning about my lack of capacity to run and raise a decent £50,000 for the College, I decided to go out and do something about it. Nothing dramatic, but something. So, yesterday around 7am I went out for a run along the Thames. It is with great joy that I can report a 10k in about one hour and a half. My route was pretty straightforward: Russell Square, Holborn, Temple Station, running along the Thames up to Westminster, Westminster Abbey, Victoria station, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, British Museum, Goodenough College. The run included a few short stops at Westminster Abbey to pray, at Victoria to check the trains, in Leicester Square because I lost my way and around the British Museum to breath a bit. This was my first time running around London, so when I left the College I felt as if I was doing the Virgin Marathon then and there. If the final thing is nearly as exciting as this one, let it come!

After the run, I had a podiatry appointment to check my feet. The meeting was very instructive at different levels. Firstly, I realised that my English is not nearly as good as I thought. To my dismay I forgot the name of the mortal disease that brought me to the doctor and after going around in circles for about five minutes we discovered what I was suffering from. It was…blisters! Yes, in an era when people have all sorts of modern conditions with funky names, I suffer from the most banal thing! Embarrassing! This brings me to my second monumental discovery that is related to treatment. Apparently the most efficient treatment against my blisters is…to stop running. The doctor intelligently pointed out that if I want to get rid of any disease I should cut the underlying cause; in this case I had blisters because I ran, so if I cut running, my blisters would be gone. This straightforward, positivist reasoning left me mute for a few seconds. After I recovered I suggested more realistic approaches like referring me to another doctor for a second opinion or meeting again in a few weeks after I buy new running socks. He agreed to both maybe because I explained enthusiastically that I ran for charity and that the charity was Goodenough College. Who knows, next time when I see him, he might even donate some money to support the cause…

Happy Valentine’s Day

 

After a two week silence, I decided to come back with news. It has been a really tough two weeks with unbelievable highs and really low points. On the bright side, I am very proud to announce that I attended my first race ever on the 4^th of February at 10am in the morning. It was a 5k run around Richmond Park. The race was long, the weather was cold and I have never felt happier in my entire life. Marsha Providence was my fellow runner/guarding angel. Thank you Marsha for waking up at 6am on a Saturday, coming to Richmond Park to run with me and making my day so lovely!

On the dark side, I took a break from training. It was a four day interruption because of studies, work and fear. After my gorgeous performance from Saturday, it snowed for a day or so and it got really cold. Also, I bought some new Adidas shoes for my training from the Virgin London Marathon discount day (40% less). I do not know if it was the weather or the shoes, but I somehow started to run less and less. My feet seemed to completely resent the new shoes; my lungs profoundly disliked the cold air; my tonus seemed to have vanished and I got scared. Am I going to be able to run the Marathon? Am I going to be ready in time? Am I going to raise enough money? How am I going to do all these things?

For four days I have been thinking about these questions and tried to find solutions for everything. The truth is that I do not know how the marathon is going to be. Also, I can’t think too much about the 40 something kilometres that I have to run in April. All I can do is to give it my best shot and hope that it will work. Fingers crossed and if you have some advice for a beginner please email me!

In the meantime…Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

Milestones

 

This cold makes me sleep more, eat sweets and stay indoors. It also makes me want to run forever because when I stop I freeze. There is no middle ground. No gentleness in transitions from out to in-doors. However, I managed to do a clean 8k this morning in less than one hour (‘morning’ is an overstatement! It was already noon by the time I finished running). My performance was good and I was pleased with myself in the end – normal breathing, little pain in my muscles, decent pace… I could have run more, but I reminded myself that my PhD was waiting to be finished.

I left the garden to go to school feeling a bit jealous on the squirrels, foxes, birds, flowers and even the sun; they seem to have no deadlines, no anxieties about the quality of their work, no supervision meetings. Stuck with the idea of supervision meetings for animals, I spent some time today checking the social organisation of squirrels (and ended up reading about dominant and mating behaviour). As compared to that, my chapter five seemed rather uninteresting, so I started to read a book chapter about bouncers. Considering that the latter had been written by my supervisor, I felt that I was making considerable progress in my work.

Towards the end of the day, I actually started to write a new chapter. At this point I am quite excited and intrigued – how will this chapter turn out? How will I write it? Will it be good? It always takes me some time to get in tune with any new piece that I write. No matter how certain I am about what I write, no matter how detailed my outline is. People have different milestones in their lives. For me, every new beginning is a milestone. Especially in writing.

How did I end up running the London Marathon?

 

Quite painful this training session and my running gear took some time to warm up (no, I do not mean the cloths, I mean my muscles!). My brain was asleep all the way…no signs of intelligence whatsoever. Towards the end of the session I realised that I had listened to the same song for over thirty minutes…my ipod was on repeat.

Meanwhile I was wondering how I ended up running the London Marathon. Well, it was one of those great collective ideas from Goodenough. Over the summer, I was writing like crazy for my PhD (back then I still hoped to finish everything by September). My friend Alma was her usual amazing self, supporting me in every possible way, while doing the PhD herself. One evening, on the rooftop, over a glass of wine, she told me about her brother who used to live in Goodenough. Her brother was training for a triathlon. Following his example, Alma had decided to run a marathon in order to keep herself busy and healthy. I immediately jumped in and decided to do it too. Of course I had no clue about what it involved, but sometimes ignorance is a bliss. The London marathon was the easiest option (as it did not involve any travelling) and Goodenough was my only choice in terms of charities. However, we did not know if we would get places. In the meantime, Alma’s father died, she had to go back to Mexico to support her family. I stayed here and kept running, training and hoping that on the 22^nd of April Alma would be there to watch me running and be proud of the way her idea materialised.

Final countdown

With all the work and the demonstrations in Romania, I did not have a lot of time to update the blog. However, that does not mean I did not train! I went out last night for a one hour run. Really proud to say that I did more than 8k. This is quite a lot for a lazy one like me!

Oh, and just to show where I come from, check out the pics above! The first one is my old self - Javier, a very close friend who used to live in Goodenough, made this poster for me (Javier had, of course, a very particular idea about who I was at the time. Javier, I miss you around here!!!). The second one is me right now with Roberta's mom (Gilda, you are amazing and I am so glad I met you!!). Have I changed my lifestyle or what? Obviously, this dramatic change is as confusing, conflicting, exciting, fun for everyone involved!

Soooo cold

Today was so cold that I could not convince myself to get out and run. It would have been nice, but it was impossible! Well, tomorrow I will have to go out and do a 40 minutes session at least. It will probably be evening, as I have to do some teaching in the morning. Oh, this temperature should be against the law!!!!

Addiction

 

This morning, during my daily run, I realised that I have become dependent on the garden. It seems that in the process of getting fitter and healthier I have created a new addiction. Well, it’s not so bad, after all the sum of vices must remain a constant, right? Despite the fact that I have never been the gym type, my typical laziness makes me prefer the Goodenough garden to any other place. Like a good friend put it…the garden has become my gym.

So, this Sunday, I will go out of my comfort zone for the long run. It should be nice to see new areas and get to know London in a different way. Gosh, I hope I do not end up shopping on Oxford Street! I also hope that my watch will record the distance properly and my personal satellite will follow me everywhere I run.

Need for adrenaline

I thoroughly enjoyed my rest day today, doing teaching and a few small things. Tomorrow it's back to black at 6 in the morning. Phew, that's what I call life!!

State of grace

After running for three days in a row, I started to have a whole new relationship with my body. On Saturday I felt pain in parts of the body I did not even know I had. So, instead of running I went swimming. It was nice and relaxing, especially because my swimming rhythm was quite slow (and anyway the distance was less than 1k).

To make it a perfect day, I finished with dinner in Jamie’s Italian restaurant in Covent Garden. Nice food and excellent company. We were four ladies from two generations: me and my best friend, her mom and one of her best friends. It felt so good, that I almost forgot to eat. No offence to Jamie Oliver, but the conversation and the company were far better than the food!

This dinner made me think about my life in Goodenough for the past few years. It seems to me that I have lived in a peculiar state of grace, creating lifelong bondages with amazing people from all over the world. This sheltered environment pushed me to try new things (some of them rather remote from my previous leisure pursuits), test my limits, grow up and become a bit more myself. No wonder I had no desire to finish my PhD earlier! So, for the past three years I lived on borrowed time, borrowed money and borrowed dreams. Later tonight I will write about how I decided to run the London Marathon.

Heavy fuel (Dire Straits)

This is how it felt this morning:

Happy New Run!

After such a long break I am back to running. I started yesterday with an unexpected 4k race and continued this morning with more or less the same thing. It is a slow, painful and exciting getting back into my training mood. My masochistic self enjoys this challenge more than anything in the world. Even more than writing up my PhD…

In order to reward myself in advance for future excellent runs, I went out to do some shopping for my training. Nothing fancy – just shoes, pants, t-shirts and so on. To my surprise I discovered a whole new world out there. The shoes are fantastic: grey with orange. The rest of the gear is way too black for my taste, but it makes me feel like Cat Woman, which is not a bad feeling after eating so much over Xmas. However, la piece de resistance is my new watch/pedometer/whatever it might be called. It is a small orange (just to match my new shoes!) device that measures the time, distance, calories burned, heart rate etc. How do you think it does that? Well, it is connected to a small device in my left shoe and to…a satellite. This is no joke apparently. Under the circumstances, how can I not be self-conscious when I run????