Happy Independence Day from Finland

It’s the 4th of July and I’m at Larkulla Conference Center and School in Karjaa Finland. Arrived at the site Wednesday Morning on the Pendolino Train from Helsinki. I am leading an English Conversation Camp which started Wednesday afternoon. Students in the camp range from 15 years to young adult and they are from Finland of course as well as France, Poland, Russia, and Japan. Most have some familial connection or are connected by way of an organization in their home city. We are a large group over 30 students and we work from Breakfast at 8:00 until curfew at 11:30. This is a very good group of students and look as though they are enjoying the experience. We also have three other teachers on staff: Maureen Cornwell, Herne who does arts and drama, Oona who is a university student in Scotland and myself. Also we have Vilmis who is a student trainee who hopes to cash this experience in for more meaningful work when she gets to the university. Maureen and I are doing Language Experience activities; Oona is leading groups in creative writing tasks, and Herne has done sculpture so far. She will also have the students start to make leather belts tomorrow. Our day includes a morning program, the class session, zumba, lunch, class sessions in the afternoon, some team time or free time before the final program of the day. We eat constantly, 3 squares plus two snacks but the food is also very good so this quantity is a problem. We spend a lot of time in large group as well as smaller teacher led groups, participating in ice breakers and challenges getting the students to feel comfortable with each other and their usage of English. So far it has been better than average. This is also a very likeable combination of students. They are very willing to help others with a smile. In addition to classroom activities, we have also been to the Fiskars village and the sea town of Hanko. It was Regatta weekend in Hanko so the town was packed and very busy.

Currently I get little sleep, always starting early and the last official to bed. Students for the most are sleeping when expected. This schedule has prevented any training on my part until today when I was able to jog about 5 k. We have until Thursday morning to pack up so I hope I will get the opportunity for a couple of more runs. This coming weekend Maureen and I will be going to a friend"s summer cottage for the weekend then eventually to the hotel departing Tuesday for Seattle.

More coming soon, I promise, so till then, a hui hou, happy fourth, and stay tuned. See you on the road.

Home and working out

This is my first post since coming back from Finland. ECC 2010 in Karjaa was amazing and the students were great. I have made many new friends and renewed some old acquaintances. Helsinki was fun and a day trip to Tallinn Estonia was very nice. Travelling always presents new experiences and it also reminds me how great it is to be home.

Because I was involved in teaching the bulk of the time in Finland I only managed three runs. There were no cycling or swim opportunities. I spent Midsummer at a cottage with a Finnish family and it was beyond amazing. A country lake, few houses surrounding, birch groves, good food and company, saunas and jumps in the lake; more fun than you can imagine and in a setting as beautiful as anything you might imagine.

Back to reality at home and after a day's rest I got to training again. For July so far I have trained 9 days out of 11. This coming Saturday is the Seafair Sprint Tri so my training will taper a bit. After I'd like to up my volume and intensity but I'm not sure I can physically take it. I'll give it a go and just wait and see how it is. My swim is progressing, but hills on the bike and distance on the run are my weakest points right now. I feel confident that I can do 10K runs and long rides but hills with speed are not making it right now and I need to extend my runs. More on that later.

June summary: swim 4.74 mi., 3:51; bike 77.25 mi., 8:49; run 14.32 mi., 3:18; 1:45 strength training; total miles 96.31, total time 16:44.

July to date: swim 5.23 4:10; bike 52 4:35; run 9.5 2:15; strength 2:15; total miles 66.73, total time 13:15.

Starting out the week tomorrow with a 1:45 cycle and 1:45 run: about 20-25 miles on the bike and 7 or 8 on the run. It's July and there is plenty of summer training ahead so, a hui hou and I'll see you on the road.

Still abroad

I've been in Finland a little over a week now. Today was the solstice and there was a beautiful but brief sunset, some amazing colors. The evenings in Karjaa are beautifully quiet and serene if you take time to listen. Walked to the old St. Katherine this evening. It is very old and it overlooks a local river. There are no words to accurately describe it except that for me it is legendary. There are only two more days of camp then I will spend some time in Helsinki and the countryside before returning to the states. I will be sad when camp is over but look forward to some "freetime" in Finland.

I've had the opportunity to run three times: twice on the wooded trail and once on the road and through a local park with a river vista. The trail runs are 3 km loops, up and down, generally used in the winter for Nordic skiing, there are some long steep climbs. The road run is on bike trails, sidewalks, and park trails, generally flat or with some inclines. My first trail run was 6 km in 55 min. That was last Wednesday. Then Thursday I ran the road run for about 6 km in 55 min. also. Finally on sunday I was able to work in a long run. I ran the trail loop making several circuits for a total of 13.5 km in about 1:55. Due to the hills, by Tuesday my legs were pretty tired. I'm hoping to get in a short 45 min run. tomorrow and get some of the kinks loosened up. After that I don't know if I will have time to train or the opportunity/location. I'll be semi-on the road in Finland staying with a family at their summer cottage and I expect that it will be relaxing and I may not even want to train. We'll see.

Anyway, if you are out there, good for you. I see many of my Monroe Tri Club friends are racing and training, good for you too! So, a hui hou, see you on the road.