Back in the Finnish forests

July 7, 2009

After having a bad race last weekend in Sweden and running on low mileage the following days, I had my first speed workout in Finland.

1.000m repetitions with running mates Juha Puttonen and Miika Takala were on the plan and they went surprisingly well. The first three reps we ran together (3:00/3:01/2:54) and they felt really easy. I have to think several years back to remember the last time when I ran a sub-3minute kilometer. On the 4th rep the boys went out hard and I couldn’t follow. I ended up with a 2:57 which is still blistering pace for me. On the last round of this run I could feel the lactate floating through my body and also lost a bit of concentration. The 5th run I had to run alone because the boys were done.Even if the 3:06 was the slowest one, it was probably the most important one because I had to recover from the previous runs and ran a controlled pace. In a 10K there will also be moments when the legs are tired and then it’s good to know that a 3:06 is almost always possible.

The weather is also very supportive here in Finland now. 15-20°C are just perfect for running. Now I know again why I chose Finland