in: Swisscheese; Swisscheese > 2006-12-12;
| # Posted 2006-12-14 00:28:00 | |
| jfredrickson: | What's it like training in Finland? I used to always want to join a club in Finland and train there but was always turned off by the impossibility of learning the language. Of course they all speak perfect English but it would still be nice to eventually learn the language. What has your experience been like? |
| # Posted 2006-12-14 00:45:01 | |
| Swisscheese: | Well, I never had problems with the language. Of course I don't understand a thing when they speak Finnish. Taining in Finnland in winter is not any different than training in a ski resort in Switzerland, but it is good to see my team mates and to enjoy the far north.
In summer it is different, the abundance of very good maps is ideal for good training. |
| # Posted 2006-12-14 01:15:00 | |
| jfredrickson: | Are you staying right in Vehkalahti right now? What's the town like? |
| # Posted 2006-12-14 18:24:16 | |
| Swisscheese: | No, we are staying at Jone Lehtos cottage up in Akäslompolo, which is close to Kittilä (Lapland). Vehkalahti is on the other side of the country.
VeVe runners are spread a little bit everywhere in south Finland, so usually when I go to Finland to meet them for training (which was not so often, because I had no time besides my studies) we are all over the place and seldomly in the region of Kotka (bigger city where the club comes from, some 100 kms east of Helsinki on the coast). But besides Baptiste Rollier and me, most runners actually come originally from there, but because of studies or work they are in Helsinki, Turku or Jyväskylä. |
| # Posted 2006-12-14 20:21:37 | |
| Swampfox: | How cold does it get in winter up there? You can't be too far from the Arctic Circle, right? |
| # Posted 2006-12-14 21:09:29 | |
| Jagge: | Äkäslompolo is 120 km north from the Arctic Circle. It's probably the best place for xc skiing in Finland.
Yes, team VeVe is kind of strange. It's a group of local kids. And there is more - Kalevan Rasti fellows Simo Martomaa and Antti Harju are from the same tiny town, they used to run for VeVe for years. Weird, but in a positive way. Äkäslompolo: http://kansalaisen.karttapaikka.fi/linkki?text=%C3... Vehkalahti: http://kansalaisen.karttapaikka.fi/linkki?text=Veh... Snow map: http://www.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/en/index.html?neit... |
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