Thirteen, Fourteen and ... 3:15!

Apologies for the lack of news, but these last three days have been madness... Still sleeping far too little, and headed to the Brighton Marathon with a 5 hour "sleep" because I am not sure if watching all the hours in the clock classifies as sleeping...

The hunger games are now over. It has been a really stressing experience, where as if one doesn't have enough, then you need to pay special attention to what you have available for eating. But no moaning. As I said before millions have to live like that for the duration of their lives. In fact they have to live with that for everything.

Life is a struggle, and although the human being will make lemonade if they are given lemons and will find moments of true happiness across their lives, it is just not pretty to be worried about the about the basic needs of life, those that make the different between living and dying. That perpetuates poverty. That is the life of birds, for ever scared about whatever moves. Too busy keeping themselves alive to make any difference or enjoy fully the privilege of being alive as a human being.

Before I get to the update on the last event, let me show you the last supper of these hunger games:

That was Rice, Beans, Rice and a few flakes of cheese... I am so tired that I run out of names... no, hold on, let's call it "I don't want to see you in again in a long time"...

To recap, I've got half a bag of pasta left, 3/4 of the rice I bought this week, porridge for another 3 for days, some milk (still well to drink :) ) So that is around 2 pounds left, so let assume that tabasco, oil, salt, sugar, onions and cheese makes for the rest of the 14 pounds. As I said, yes, it is possible. But let's put it this way: I don't think I will repeat it again.

But you are more than welcome to take on the challenge yourself and spread awareness about how a millions of people live across the world. And the official event is only 5 days and no crazy runs in the middle :) I can tell you that 5 days is more than enough to get a glimpse of what this is all about.

http://www.unicef.org.uk/Fundraise/live-below-the-line/

Now, with todays challenge... The human being tends to forget and even idealize past challenges. That just to say that you will have forgotten how tought it was the last time. Well, I did forget. A marathon is tough, let alone after these two weeks. But regardless of that there will always be a good amount of pain on offer. I had a really painful last 10K. My legs shut down and I was on the verge of getting a couple of big cramps that would have made me crawl to the finish line, but in the end...

Hadn't I promised something?? :) But I can tell you it cost me blood and tears... I went from 7 a mile to 8 a mile in the last 10K, but fortunately I was spread the early gains across the painful last third.

And watching people in tears who had scarcely reached the half marathon help to not complain about nothing...

And that was the last few meters :)

And that is the end of these hunger games! I suppose you now had enough of me for a good while :) I also hope that I kept you entertained or at least made you read one or two of these blogs.

Thanks for being there, and thanks for being so awesome. We have all raised £1,308 to date, which is just unbelievable, hoping we can still give it a little final push :)

Think of those 14 pounds I have spent over these two weeks, and think what those £1,308 can do

All the best for all of you, and may the odds be ever in your favour! :)

http://www.justgiving.com/MarcosHungerGames

Day 11 - 1.2 BILLION below the line every day

Today it was the number of the beast: 66.6Kg. That is an all time record, so decided cook the rest of the chicken and recover a bit...

And the result deserves a full picture...

Wifey - I am speechless... Onion, salt and a stock cube. And the rest of the chicken... Awesome dinner...
After this my legs should be grateful and be prepared for the weekend! No chippy smells today!

Tomorrow back to carb world to ramp up for the weekend...

I was just thinking today what it must be like to live with the obsession of putting food on the table, let alone all the rest. I have not been starving during this 11 days, but at times I have felt really anxious about not being able to eat anything else and being conscious that I need to have enough to finish these two weeks and hence being conservative to start with...

1.2 BILLION people live below the line every day. 5,500 children die of malnutrition every day.
http://www.justgiving.com/MarcosHungerGames

1.2 billion people live below the line every day. Could you?©UNICEF

Day 8 - Croydon Half - Daughter carrying competition

It was a lovely bright start in Croydon. Things were looking up after the night lost an hour and hence we ended up sleeping less than 5 hours, not bad for a Sunday (...)

I started warming up as if this was a conventional "daughter carrying" race

As you can see, she was getting used to the idea pretty quickly... :)

But it ended up being a bit more conventional and pretty hilly. Here, with the bad boys at the front, with the eye in the watches about to get going!

And, an hour and 28 mins later, riding like a blue unicorn after some goddamn ups and downs around Lloyds park and Sandilands... Mission accomplished :)

 The picture of the finisher and his lovely daughters :)

And the upside down daughter competition continues...

In another note, yummy chicken for lunch today, deep fried protein to recover those muscles in the daughter lifting contest :)

And my 3 Michelin Star dinner of the day. This is call "Mickey Mouse with Pinocchio nose"

Ok, I am knackered... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz

http://www.justgiving.com/MarcosHungerGames

Day 7 - Neptune, may I?

So here we are, in the equator of this journey asking Neptune permission to cross the Equator. I guess he will answer tomorrow when I cross the finish line in Croydon Half.

The day started badly today. 67.1Kg is almost an all time record low. But since the efects of last night´s tabasco came a bit later it is possible that I will be below 67 tomorrow in the morning. That is more than 3Kg less than last Sunday morning. As I said this may not be totally a disaster from a racing point of view, but we'll see what else am I missing tomorrow...

Today I've binged on coffee - 3 double ex... The day has been significantly less painful I must say.

So it is carbs load up Saturday, so mountain of pasta for lunch plus a few sprinkles of cheese on top. This makes a couple of extra nothings in the last couple of days so I will have to make sure that there is something in the leftovers of the budget to cover some of these nothings... The wooden flower is not edible, shame :)

 I haven't put names to lunch yet... how about... "Same sh*t* with Cheese" :)

And dinner the same as yesterday, without the tabasco. I call this one "Where is the limit of rice and beans dinners?" as in the green bangle in the picture :)
Oh, and that is my foot and my slipper, dammit!

















Well, tomorrow is another great day. If I don't update this blog anymore is because I did not listen to the marshals and I decided to cross the road when the tram was coming!

Good night!

http://www.justgiving.com/marcoshungergames

Day 6 - Whimsical Rice and Beans alla Lalaloopsy

Weight seems to have stabilized, finally. I was starting to think that I was going to get rich with the "white label diet"... Still 67.8 Kg.

Apologies for writing a day later but this week I have been sleeping just 5 hours a day and I just run out of energy...

The day has been tough and I think those 5 hours of sleep play and the reduction in caffeine pay an important part on it... and then lunches are not happy so the days are loooooooonnnngggggg

I tried to take a picture of my hand to make it better but it is till a bowl of rice on its own (not because I am hiding a piece of chorizo underneath :)). A Spaniard eating without bread, that deserves a price on its own...

Loads of hours on water, no coffee, no nothing else later I drag myself into dinner... And since I am running in less than 48 hours I decide to invest an additional tin of beans. This is going to mean that I will have to buy more beans this week out of the remaining budget.

I call this one "Whimsical Rice and Beans alla Lalaloopsy". The Lalaloopsy run away when I added a few too many drops of Tabasco to make the dish Friday night special. No beer, just goddamn water.

Those drops of Tabasco were about to be THE mistake of this first week. In the morning that made me go below the 67Kg mark...

In a bit the summary for today ;)

http://www.justgiving.com/marcoshungergames

Day 5 - Are you Looking at me??

The day has not started well, 67.8Kg and this is not really within the after-race expectation. The funny thing is when I have been trying to lose some weight it has been pretty painful to lose every single gram, and now it looks like they are leaving without saying good bye... Let's see what happens tomorros. I am expecting it to stabilize since there is always a period of internal "cleansing" when the body adapts to a new diet.

Being in a hurry in the morning means my porridge usually will keep on cooking in my stomach in my way to work... :)

The morning has been long. Afternoon has been long. It is the goddamn coffee and the lack of proper sleep...

I can officially declare that I hate this pasta. It could be cooking for 20 minures and still "Aldente" would be an insult. However I have such a vacuum inside at 12 (yes, a Spaniard having lunch at 12!) that they are all gone before I can cry them good bye...

The afternoon is long as lens (Spanish phrase, I suppose some used to take lens pretty seriously...) I am missing so much being entertained by my coffee... My stomach hates me and my brain is going to commit suicide...

And back home a nice surprise awaits, a reminder of last weekend run! My label with my time came with the post. It is official: 1:26:40 :) It will be difficult this weekend but it is also true that I will be 2Kgs lighter (at this pace) and that I know how much I can push the race. And I play at home! Some of the streets I will be running are part of my dark video :)

Once my home duties are done, I am racing to get my dinner done, and since I have desperate for most of the day and groceries are decreasing at a conservative rate I decide to cook something special:

I am calling this one "Are you looking at me?" and since there is no one else around then I suppose that in fact it is looking at me, so I am going to have to wipe that smile off its face...

HAHAHA :) These beans with Rice were simply excellent. I am getting closer for a recipe to top up my levels of energy for Sunday...

Donation are still coming. You are all so awesome!

Good night everyone!

http://www.justgiving.com/marcoshungergames

One Day I'll Grow Up

(Click para Español)
Beyond the misery of a miserable childhood. Being trapped. Being trapped in the defencelessness of childhood, where not even running away is an option. There is an Stockholm syndrome that will make us be close to a cruel hand. To an infinite Misery. To the cruellest of teachers or the schoolmates from hell. We try to feed of the brief moments of peace that we are awarded with and we endure with stoicism the rest of them. Until either we are killed or we are thrown violently into the world when, finally, we don't need anyone to stand on our feet. And all of a sudden this cruel world sees us born again under the baptism of fire that our childhood was.

This long period of defencelessness in our species will grant us the food and protection that the development of the magic box on our shoulders that distinguish us from the rest of living creatures demands from us.
To make us unique. To make us human. This defencelessness assumes the protection that our parents and environment will provide us with and which will revert to all of us as a stronger and compassionate society.

If this equilibrium is broken, we are not worth it. If this equilibrium is broken we do not deserve our place in this world.

There is a song by Antony and the Johnsons that describes perfectly this period in which we depend on a compassionate environment which grants us the privilege of protection and defence, of growing towards our realization as human beings. And the trap. And our fight. And our strength knowing that there will be light at the other end of the tunnel. The underlying subject in the song is obviously different but it has the same roots in that time of defencelessness which should be instead a time of continuous spring and, why not, happiness.

One day I'll grow up, I'll be a beautiful woman

One day I'll grow up, I'll be a beautiful girl.

But for today I am a child, for today I am a boy

Sadness, anger, frustration... but also hope, strength, perseverance. The picture in the video is truly chilling...

My Hunger Games, another step beyond.

Under the Iron Bridge We Kissed...

(Click para Español)
"Still Ill" - Possibly the best Smiths songs ever. You'll find all sorts of explanations on what people think about the intended meaning of a song, but the reality seems to be that it will have as many meanings as people listen to it. Songs travel with us through life and define our coordinates in space, time and emotions, they tell our stories of struggle and joy.

I am just a recent fun of The Smiths. They were really at their peak when I was not even a teenager, and well before I could make sense of English lyrics. However they seemed to be big back in the days in Spain. It has always amazed me that concerts of English bands in Spain seem to drive people mad at the stadiums while here in the UK people seem to be more apathetic about them. Maybe if most Spaniards could understand the lyrics they wouldn't be so enthusiastic in some cases (ha, ha :))

There are lots of flashes on this song that suggest to me our lives in my dear cities. "Under the Iron Bridge we kissed..." and although it was bloody freezing I'd go back under that Iron Bridge :) Who needs the mountains if I could go back under that Iron Bridge on a cold and wet winter in the grey darkness of the city night!

My running is by definition in a city, going past the grey buildings, loads of random people, the landmarks. It is embedded within its concrete foundations. It couldn't be any other way.

"Does the body rule the mind 

Or does the mind rule the body? 

I dunno..."

Isn't that one of the unanswered dilemmas of humankind? So thrilling to hear the question in that sad, nostalgic voice. And then that kiss under the Iron Bridge... Our eternal love/hatred relationship with society's rules and ethics. And, from another angle, how the mind can guide the body conquer the next frontier.

In My Hunger Games  it is definitively the mind ruling over the body. Or is it the body ruling the mind to rule about what it needs to? I dunno...

Bye bye Double Espresso :,(

(Click para Español)
Awesome run today :) ! - getting closer to run consistently under 4min per Km. It looks like the return after Xmas has not been as dramatic as the last year when a mixture of awful viruses and the typical Xmas laziness made me crawl well into spring to recover all the hard work in late 2012.

What helps me go running in winter well into the dark, after a long day when I have not even had the time to sit in my desk for more than 10 mins in a row? Yes, the same one that helps go through my day: coffee!

Just a couple of days ago talking about Living below the line a friend mention to me that most possibly the thing I will be missing the most is my double espresso... Well, not just the one... all the four I will be missing. Each of them for its own particular reason...

Since a double espresso is somewhere between 1 and 2 pounds (or free if the office coffee counts), let's say that three days worth of coffee would eat my whole budget for My Hunger Games pretty much.

It is curious that just the drug we need to keep us switched on is more expensive than the food others can afford for a day. Just the one.

Having said that I think that I will be saying good bye to my favourite coffee shop for a couple of weeks and say hello to my thermo flask :) I am hoping that with a packet of 227g of ground coffee (cheapest around 2 pounds) I can make myself coffee for the duration of My Hunger Games :)

And may the odds be ever in our favour! ;)

Living below the line with a Twist.

(Click para Español)
I have been wanting to run my first Ultramarathon for the last couple of years but I can't really find the space for that in my life right now. I envy these crazy seekers of the human-self limits but running almost every single day of the week, including a couple of almost full marathons is something I'd love but there is just no way. Not saying it is still not happening sometime soon :)

So there needed to be something I could do in the meantime which wasn't just boring everyone with another marathon. It is just so yesterday :)

At some point last year I got an email from Unicef which was organizing an interesting campaign to bring awareness on the lives of all of those living below the poverty line. This has been defined somehow as living below £1 a day, which varies depending on the country for various reasons.

According to Unicef over 1,200 people across the UK took on the 2013 Live Below the Line challenge for UNICEF. They decided to live on £1 a day for a week to gain first-hand insight into the lives of people living below the poverty line. In the 2013 Campaign an amazing £153,170 was raised to make a lasting difference to the lives of children.

So you can see where I am going, can't you? :)

My Hunger Games will consist of 2 weeks living below the line, on a £1 a day ration, during which I will race a total of 84Km (or around 52 miles) divided into two half marathons and the Brighton marathon to finish this journey.

I am pretty sure this is going to be an interesting experience which I will be sharing with you, starting now which is when my after-Xmas training starts!!

Oh, and this is a picture of one my heroes this year, Valenti SanJuan, right after he finished his Cavalls del Vent 100Km across unforgiving mountains! I am sure I'll have the chance to introduce you to this inspiration of mine during this journey :)

Sponsor My Hunger Games

My Hunger Games - INTRO

Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favour! :)
(Spanish Here)

The Challenge

2 Weeks on a £1 a day subsistence budget and 3 Races - 84Km

The Races - March/April 2014

23rd March - HASTINGS HALF

30th March - CROYDON HALF

6th April - BRIGHTON MARATHON

The Cause

Raise funds for UNICEF

How to be Awesome and be part of this? :)

http://www.justgiving.com/MarcosHungerGames