A piece of Texas

Last weeks in Finland has reminded me about Texas in many ways. The weather has been “exceptionally” hot and they have warned us for hot nights and days. So Finnish people have got a piece of Texas weather, but the weather reminds more Texas spring than summer there. In fact, I think we have no idea about 95F (35 degree) with 50 % humidity. I have enjoyed this weather for my whole heart and I have been sweating on the Paavo Nurmi track.

Some good workouts with my teammates have also brought many memories from Texas. Those workouts also helped to overcome my first race in Finland which was not good at all, as the first race never is. 3*3*300m workout already told me that I have done many things right and my fitness point is going up. I did this workout with Heidi, a dear friend and team mate of mine, and it felt so good to run together. Last week I did 5*1000m repeats with Anni and Tiia. We finished the last one in time of 3.14 and all of us could agree that together we could run faster.

Also a former top athlete from Rice University, Becky Wade, brought a piece of Texas to Turku, when she visited in Finland. Or if you read her blog, you should say she brought a piece of Finland to her blog. Becky is doing a year-long exploration of running cultures around the world and right now she has visited in 19 countries. It was awesome to meet such a sympathetic athlete almost from the same city where I spent my exchange year.

Also the same Finnish girls,  who raced in SHSU twilight  in a dark and cold night on May 2, could be seen on the track tomorrow. Those girls, Johanna and Hanna, are racing in 1500m finals tomorrow night. The race is called “Distance Running Carnival” and as you know, carnivals are always celebration of something. Tomorrow the reason for a carnival is obviously the possibility to run new PRs in a beautiful summer night.

The link to Becky's blog:

http://beckyrunsaway.wordpress.com/2013/06/26/helsinki

Becky and me in Paavo Nurmi Games