On my Malaysian trip I started running more actively again. The weather there was hot and nice and I was afraid I’d stop when returning back to cold Helsinki. I didn’t, and running felt really good. I knew I was training for a half-marathon and a marathon, but I didn’t have any specific events in mind. For the marathon I still don’t but I assume it’s happening sometime in the autumn.
After deciding the event for half-marathon I found out they had a pacesetter for 1:45, a bit faster than my personal best. I wanted to try to improve my PB so this pacesetter was perfect. On the day of the race the weather was bad. It was raining and snowing with temperature just a few degrees above zero. Although it sounds kinda bad it was just fine for running.
For the first 5km I felt like I really could go faster. Pacesetter was doing a good job and running with steady pace. Up until 14km I didn’t feel any fatigue or pain. On 18km mark I finally decided it’s time to shave a few seconds off and I left the group. Someone else tagged along and I heard ‘go for it!’ from behind. We speeded up a bit and run together almost until the finish line. With 400m left he spurted while I kept the constant pace finishing in 1:43:11. Comparing my run to 2010, my time was 6 minutes faster with lower average heart rate.
However, these numbers are somewhat irrelevant. My result is overall average. But I’m getting older every single day and yet I’m in better condition than ever before and that is something that really counts.
Next step, find the right marathon and make a new BP on that distance.
Last month I visited in Malaysia. I spend most of my time in Kuala Lumpur and outside the city for a week or so. This was my third trip there, on my first trip I met my friends from Argentina, on second it was a friend from my previous job and this time another old friend. It’s a small world!
At the Lauttasaari bridge on my way to work and back.
