It has been way too long since the last time I checked in with you. However I am justified in my actions, as I havn't found a free day in weeks. The last time I wrote to you was at the start of March. During that time I was very excited for the marathon which was quickly approaching, and is now in the rearview. Before I get to the marathon, lets talk about the trips and expiriences of March.
I started March off with some weekends at Alagna snowboarding all the different terrain I could find. Then as the sun eroded away the snow, and the middle/end part of March took flight, I started traveling on weekends with my family. The first trip we took was to Como. Como is a famous lake town that resides on the shore of... you guessed it Lake Como. The town is famous for its amazing villa's and famous residents, namley George Clooney. Then the following weekend, we once again went to the lake district, only this time closer and less famous. We went to Lake Orta, and spent a day in the accordingly named city of Orta. Orta was beautiful just like Como, infact I liked it more! The town was smaller and not covered in tourism like Como, in turn, the city of Orta is much more of a cultural gem. Then to finish off the month, we took a trip to Bergamo. A city about an hour east of Milan. Bergamo was a beautiful city from was I was able to see. The history behind it is intresting, to learn more we took part in a guided tour while we were there.
Then As quick as it started, it was gone. March ended and April started. In the first few days of April I had a break from school, in which I went to Milan a couple times. The most notable thing I did there was attend a museum of Leonardo Da Vinci. The window into the ideas of Da Vinci was amazing to see! His ideas were so very far ahead of his time. Then during that of the start of April my family took me to Switzerland for a day!! Not just to walk around the town, but to enjoy the THERMAL SPRINGS! It was a day of relaxing in the natural beauty of the mountains. Do not worry, we left with plenty of choclate! We got back from Leukerbad, Switzerland, with just a week before leaving to Vienna!
We left to Vienna, Austria, on the 10th of April. The marathon was on the 13th. After arriving in the city, we took 2 days to explore the prestine city. As far as a city goes Vienna is amazing! It is ranked as the worlds best city to live in, and I havn't been to all the worlds cities... Yet I can tell you that I wouldn't mind living in Vienna. The history is just as rich as the art culture, and the food is always good. It is also a city where the buses always arrive on time, something Italy could learn (haha, but really) Anyway on the 3rd day, I woke myself up early, went down stairs to eat a high carb breakfast, got on the metro, and arrived at the starting line. It was marathon time. I had been training for over 3 months and was ready to conquer. During the training I had followed a strict training schedule, unfortunatly my Nike tracking app tracked 1.5 miles for every actual mile I ran. So in the end I was gravley unprepared for the marathon, having ran no more than 14 miles at any given time in my training. (I thought I had ran more than 20) I however was not aware of this at the start line, and only became awear when I was barley finished with 9 miles and my app alerted me that I had just completed a half marathon. From that point I knew the race was going to become a mental war. It's all in the mind afterall right? I reached 15 miles, and started to cramp. It was becoming hard to even walk, but I continued to jog as much as possible. My body was screaming stop after 18 miles, but my mind pushed forward. I had only 8.2 miles to go, and knew nothing was going to stop me, absolutley nothing. My body had broken down. It was my mind that was running. I had pushed my mind to a point past what it had before thought impossible. I limped and ran to 22 miles, and with 4.2 miles to go, "Till I colapse" by Eminem came on my playlist, I listened to the songs message, and dug even deeper, forcing myself to seemingly sprint the last leg of the race. In the end I had heart pains, I vomited, and I colapsed, during the last leg of the race. However I passed the finish line, and nothing in the world could have felt better. I had ran a marathon and even more learned about the power of will. I had learned if you want something bad enough, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can stop you from capitolizing on your goal or dream. After the race I without exaggeration couldn't walk, and was asked if I needed crutches multiple times by event staff. I declined, because I knew my 2nd pair of parents would arrive (Patrizia & Gian) and I could use them as my crutches back to the hotel where I could rest back to health. In the end, I can say it was the best single expirience of my life, and I could not be more happy with myself for running it.
Jumping forward to present day, it is spring break, and I am going to Monaco on Monday. I will get to see the stunning city/country with my own eyes and marvel on the beauty. Then a week later I have a rotary trip to Cinque Terre. The time I have left continues to shrink, it is sad knowing I must go, but every ending is a new beggining.
Until next time,
Logan White
(Most my pictures are on my other camera)
After the marathon!
(I will put all the pictures on my camera on FB when I have the chance)
