'Cause I live and I learn

After my week without any running, it was time for the fifth and final instalment of IFK Umeå’s “Vintercupen”. Set along the river, the 10k “Kyrkmilen” got off to a flying start in 3:30 min/km-pace as I raced along the river towards Backen together with Elin. A couple of kilometres into the race, we found ourselves in a field covered in deep snow, occasionally slowing down to 8 min/km. While Elin was able to fly above the snow and once again impressed me beyond words by winning the women's race, I really struggled to keep up, ultimately finishing the race in just over 50 minutes. Not only did I get stuck in the snow but I also experienced a lot of pain in my chest and lower back, possibly after all the strength training earlier this week. So, in the end, this race definitely fell into the "lessons learned"-category.