Yes, I must manage to get time to visit the fjords of Norway, that is just priceless to see with images, so being there would be even more priceless. Apart from that, speaking about half marathons, I did my first one when I was 20, only 3 years after I started running seriously about 30 kms per week (now I do about 50 to 80 km per week, without forcing myself, I've become addictive :D). As for my 1st half marathon, I did it after doing some 5-mile challenges. But I never did something in-between, like 10 kms. I preferred to do a half marathon first and then 10kms would look easier. That's the same feeling I got with half marathons once I did a marathon. So to sum it up I did 1 hour and 27 minutes, was quite proud as I really gave everything, but didn't really have a real "running plan". I relied on my own "peak periods" and "weak periods" to run like I felt was the best way to do it. Eventually sometimes to motivate myself I tried following someone running faster than me. That helped me a lot. Now I'm a bit more experienced, so I did a few more half marathon and 10 kms ; my best time on half marathon is 1 hour 20 minutes. My aim is to go under this limit now. The best runners make it in 1 hour and a few minutes, so there's room for improvement, but those 15 minutes are the hardest to reduce, as at that pace, 15 minutes is really some long time. My best time on 10 km is 35 minutes I think. And the only marathon I did it in just a bit less than 3 hours, 2 hours and 58 minutes I think. I have more room to improve there. But again, it was a learning experience, I know the best runners make marathons in about 2 hours and a few minutes. You gotta keep training. As I love it there's no problem. I will post soon about my experience too.
RE: A stroll in Helsinki