Viivi Lehikoinen the difficult early season continued in the Oslo Diamond League, when he placed eighth with a time of 56.23.
The time is in line with the early season runs, as all three runs in the last week have fallen between 56.23 and 56.25.
Lehikoinen has fallen far short of last year’s basic level. Last season, he also set a Finnish record of 54.40 in Spain.
Lehikoi could not be reached on Friday to discuss his situation. However, the runner said earlier in May in an interview with Urheilu that he suffered from overexertion in the winter.
– It actually started already at the January camp in South Africa. I also had really good days, but there were days when there were problems with the technology. It felt like I wouldn’t fully recover from training, Lehikoinen said on May 21.
Lehikoinen returned to Finland and started competing. At first, the races went well, but slowly the performance decreased.
– Physically and mentally, I could see that it was quite low pressure. There were really bad trainings and it kept getting worse in competitions.
Lots of signs in the air
According to Lehkonen, the last straw was the Tampere SM halls, where the performance was already really bad. He and his team decided to blow the whistle and end the season.
Very soon it became clear that Lehikoinen had drifted into an overload state.
– I monitor resting heart rates, body sensations and mental well-being. There were many signs in the air that things might not be all right now.
Lehikoinen was instructed to do an exercise every other day that would be nice. Otherwise, he tried to rest and eat well.
– I did things that I felt were good for me. I kind of tried to focus on that moment and didn’t think too much about what my situation had been during the government period or feel too much pressure about the future.
In top condition, the training went over
A hurdler drifted into overexertion due to a few factors. He had trained really hard and was also in really good shape. Thus, he got a lot out of his training.
However, Lehikoinen was not used to such a demanding training for such a long time. He didn’t even get sick or suffer from injuries, so he was able to train hard all the time.
– I got a lot out of myself. At some point it may have gone too far, says Lehikoinen.
– A person is not only a robot, and yes, mental things also have a big impact on workload. The body cannot recognize whether it is physical or mental, he continues.
Lehikoinen admits that he also experienced a lot of pressure. In addition, he was abroad and away from home a lot, which is always stressful in its own way.
– The environment is also such that you are all the time with the best in the world, and that puts some strain on you.
Lehikoinen trains abroad as a coach Laurent Meuwlyn in a group that includes for example Femke Bolone of the best 400m swimmers in the world.
The difficulties are still visible
According to Lehikoinen, the state of overexertion lasted a few weeks, and recovery took a surprisingly long time in the end. Although patience was tested, according to the hurdler, it was important to be able to break the cycle at that very moment.
Lehikoinen said in an interview with in May that he still notices that a bad day is worse than before. He also still has big problems with technology sometimes.
– The technology affects the speed a lot, so you’ve had to be patient with it, and it hasn’t always been successful.
– Sometimes there have been swear words during training and I have even cried. It hasn’t been easy, Lehikoinen admits.
The thinking changed to the European Championships
Due to difficulties, Lehikoinen has had to change his way of thinking. He is not very patient during bad times, but he has had to learn to accept those days as well.
Thoughts have also changed regarding the soon-to-be-started European Championships. In the case of Lehikoinen, for example, at the end of last year, we could even talk about an EC medal, but the current level of performance is hardly enough for a medal.
Lehikoinen says that he previously experienced some pressure to succeed in the European Championships. However, the overworked state changed the way of thinking.
– Although it is the main goals of the season, it is in a way one race among others. Of course I want to do my best, but I can’t control how others run.
– I can influence the fact that I do things as well as possible. The result is what it is. I shouldn’t take pressure from it.