The last hours of the year are at hand and I know I haven’t been writing anything in English here for a while. Well, if someone didn’t already know, I’ve put my o-shoes, compasses and training clothes aside and decided to find new adventures, goals and dreams in “the other world”. The world where every day is not defined by trainings and recovery. The other world has always been around but everyone who’s been doing sports on top level knows that the focus has never been in the studies or jobs as much as for the ”normal” people.
When I was making a big mistake in the long distance final, I was just thinking that ”Okay, maybe I’ll just have to fuck up this last race too, and take a little lap of honour for my career down here about 50m too low on the hillside”. I hadn’t really decided anything about ”the end” yet, but I quess my heart and mind knew already. After the race, I didn’t even care about me not doing a good job. Instead I realized, this is not something I want from sports. Top-level sports must be done with hunger and full heart and I couldn’t really do it anymore.
The end was maybe quite predictable for many. I had gotten so much, almost everything, during my career and the last years had been just struggling against my own body. Not at all like it should be, running along with your own body… In fact, I almost stopped playing in the spring already. I realized that my body had really started to fight back every time I tried to train. That way, I could never reach the level I should and I wanted to. It has never been my goal to be second. And when it comes to health, sports will never be more important for me.
So the days and weeks after the WOC passed and I haven’t really been training at all. The past weeks I’ve tried to do some 5 hours of jogging because it really doesn’t make you feel better when you become passive all the sudden. Someone could say, that 5 hours is alot, but for a sportsman who has always had a purpose and a goal for almost each training, it’s nothing. It’s just jogging. On the other hand, the things in the ”other life” will soon be determing my days and hours. I will start working, for the first time ever, on Monday. Its’ about time, I quess. I can’t really say too much about it yet, but I can just say that I didn’t really choose small challenges this time either. Humble, a bit scared but happy I will start the chapter two in my life next year!
Before that I just want to THANK YOU one more time. Thank you all the great orienteers I have been racing against and running with. It’s really been a pleasure. I love racing <3 Thank you all my closest ones, my family, friends and people who have been running with me all these years. Thank you people in the different fields of orienteering who have been working so much for our sports. Thank you my sponsors, without you I wouldn’t have been on this level. Thank you all the people that been supporting me, challenging me and trying to make me a better orienteer and perhaps also a better person. I own you alot.
Hope you all a great year 2016. Do take the chances and do challenge yourselves. You won’t regret it. Your dreams just may come true and after that you can always find new ones <3
Xxxxx Minna
PS: I’ll be running o-competitions for sure, so we’ll definitely meet some day.
PPS: I had a great “funeral” for myself a couple of months ago. For that moment, the Finnish broadcasting company YLE made THIS VIDEO. Watch and learn or just enjoy 😉