Bard 'til you Barf! (Or, the many ways in which I am excited for the Shakespeare Marathon)

I am still alive, I promise.

In the past few days I have:
1. Run 11 miles - my second 'long run' for my marathon training. My route took me over Tower Bridge...

 past the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben...

and finally over Vauxhall Bridge to stop in front of the SIS (British Intelligence Agency) Headquarters.

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My trusty Garmin told me that it was 5.5 miles from my flat to the end of Vauxhall Bridge if one follows the Thames Path along the northern bank. It was lucky that I had my Garmin because if I had been going on 'feel' alone I would have thought that it was more like 16 miles. But I was tired that day after being ill, so I can't feel too bad. Managed to do the entire thing in an hour and 25 minutes. (The run to Vauxhall was easy...it was turning around and running the 5.5 miles back that was a killer - :( ). 

2. Signed up for the Edinburgh Half Marathon on April 10th. Why? Because: a) I need to run a half marathon prior to running my marathon, b) it gives me something to look forward to, and c) I ran my first ever race, the May 2009 Bupa Great Run, in Edinburgh. In addition, I sense that this will be the final step in 'reclaiming' the city for myself. Those readers who are aware (or who have worked out the details through their close association with me) of the devastating event that befell me during my study abroad in Edinburgh in 2009 know that returning to Scotland's capital is a particularly hard task for me. I did so this summer for my internship, but it proved to be a challenge each and every day. Still, I was able to overcome many of the negative connotations that I had developed with Edinburgh. Running (and hopefully being successful) in a half marathon in Edinburgh will be, I feel, my way of demonstrating how far I've come, how life truly can move on even when the worst has befallen you.

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3. Booked my bed and breakfast for the Shakespeare Marathon on May 8th. I'll be arriving on Friday, May 6th so that I can look around Statford-upon-Avon (to which I have never been) before the marathon on Sunday.

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Unfortunately, this is not the official image of the Shakespeare Marathon. I wish it was. The official one is much more boring and doesn't even picture Shakespeare at all (rather it features the Rotary Club's wheel since they are the ones hosting the marathon). I like this one much better. (I still entertain hopes of being able to recite Shakespeare throughout the entire race.)

4. Finished my research for my Politics of the Middle East paper on the permanent-status negotiations of 2000/01. (Now to write the 3000 word paper...)

5. Completed my CITI research certification course for my internship at American University's COTELCO (so that I can now legally contribute to their projects). Teleconferencing is the future, my friends. I can have an internship based in DC AND go to graduate school in London. It's marvelous. I just wish that long-distance relationships could be (or have been) so easy to manage. :(

6. Found out that I got a 67 (B+ and 'merit' equivalent in the UK) on my horrible (for me to write, at least) Theories of International Relations essay and a 71 (A and 'distinction' equivalent) on my Open Source Intelligence Essay. Just a May exam to sit for Theories (to make up the other 50% of my grade) and 2 more essays of 3,250 words for OSINT!