20 down, 32 to go

Today I ran the 20th self-supported ultramarathon training run of the year. It was a cold but beautiful morning. The steaming river looked absolutely awesome. Everything seemed so fine, but things were about to change soon.

At about 20K point I ran a special trail made for runners only. No bikes or dogs are allowed on this trail, so I was a bit surprised to see a lady with a dog there. I wasn't going to say anything because I wanted to get going, but when I tried to pass them I noticed the dog was unleashed, which is against the law in Helsinki. 

Suddenly the dog jumped at me fiercely, and I felt sharp pain in my right thigh. The lady made the dog calm down, but she refused to believe my theory that the pain in my leg was caused by the dog's claws. "My dog loves people and would never hurt them", she said and went away. 

I thought she's crazy and ran home to clean my wounds so it wouldn't get infected. I couldn't make it stop bleeding completely, so I just took care of it the best I could and continued my run.   

After 30K it started to rain a little, and I thought nothing of it until it really started pouring. Man, did I feel cold out there today!

I managed to run 45.6K (28.3 miles) altogether in 5:54. 20 ultramarathons down, 32 to go!