Sweeeet Sweden!

So back to the story:)) or fairytale..

Well, I arrived to Östersund early in the evening, and stayed by a biathlonfriend until my friend who had been in x-c SM in Skellefteå would arrive to the city:) Anyways, early in the next morning I was supposed to head to Lima, 340kms south from Östersund. Swedish Champs in Biathlon! Luckily I didn't need to drive by myself!:) (Would have been cheaper, though. Got parkingfees 2x 600kronor (60euros) Nice?:DD) In the end I got an excellent accommodation in a very cheap price, thanking Erik Gradin very much!!:)

So we had sprint and pursuit in the program! the weather was nice and sunny and there were nearly 20 of women on the startline!:) In Finnish Champs we hardly had 15th! so how did it go for the finnish champion?:D well, I lost over 3 minutes to the top.. Okey, ACO and Helena Jonsson were so much ahead of others! with clear shootin ACO won 40sec before Helena, then there were a gap like 2 minutes before the third woman Anna-Maria Nilsson! I was 11th, with two misses in the standing. It was tuff battle from 3rd place to 12th!! a bit over a minute..not bad!:) I was waiting for the pursuit to be interesting.. climbing up the "murderhill" 5 times would "kill" anybody":D

Anyways, I didn't get this chance.. The arrangers wanted me to start together with ACO (in the guestclass!) so that was that. I hanged with Aco.. a while *grinning* then I got company from Helena in the first and 2nd shooting.. ( I shot clean, Helena missed one!:D) but after that I started to gather penalties. twice from second prone and first standing.. so I barely saw anybody on the track. Anyways last shooting clean, and I could ski to the finish as 3rd..:) The tracks were tuffer in pursuit as the sun smleting the snow, and all the upphills were like playing swampsocker!:D Comparing to the other girls I would have been 7th.. What is in the end quite good:) So that was the last race of this season if I don't get a huge eager to race after one week in Kontiolahti...

I stayed one night in Lima, standing in the rain next day cheering up the others:D Then we horried up to Östersund where the season's best race and afterski was waiting for us!.D Unlucklily we missed the down-hillrace (with Redbull and Jägermeister) but the big dinner was in the evening!! nearly 100 x-c skier and biathletes gathered together in a secret place to eat a nice dinner, then heading to the city.. afterparty:D I would say, really awesome evening!! And I did see many of my friends..:)) and met also some news! Thanks New Sweden Team for arranging this geniuos happening!.)

The day after I was skiing.. enthusiastic!! Was so awesome to be back in the city and ski on the stadium:)) Hopefully I'll be skiing here again soon.. At least in December in biathlon WC:))

Anyways I spent the evening by a dinner with my friends.. Then heading to Åre, the best skicentrum in Sweden(?).D I got invitation a day earlier, and without thinking more I wanted to join this miscellaneous group I hardly knew...(I'm not shy ^^D)! Anyways, it was really fun.. ! Living in the luxorious hotel on the top of hill, in a suite! Spa and afterski.. lot of people and marvellous breakfast, for free!!:D eh. Not bad, isn't it?:))

Next morning the prefect weather, clear blue sky and -2! A nice skitrip in Åre.. then returning back to Östersund:)) This is it! I just say, what a trip.. spontanious, hilarious.. And I have still two days to go!!:))) I don't want to go back to rainy Finland, where all snow has nearly disappeared and the boring schoolstuff is waiting for me..^^'

I really have to book a flight to somewhere warm or south after 1st of May:D Before that it's impossible cause of school and univesity celebration... eh.D Okey, We'll see... Now I'll enjoy the last days in lovely Sweden..:)

Adjö!.)

Season's ending..:))

Tjäna! Now it was time to update. It's been a bit hectic again, with the last races to this season and my trip to Sweden:)
After World Cup in Kontiolahti I managed to "visit" school and train to the remaining races. First in the program we had Cross-country finnish Champs in Kontiolahti. I was supposed to ski on Friday in the sprintrelay with Sarkku and on Sat we had normal relay 3x 5km! Well, briefly about the results, we got into the finals!:D We never expected that!:) In sprintrelay each team has two skiers (skating style this year) and each of them skies 1,2km at full blast.. then exchange and this 3 times per each!!:D tuff job I would say!!:) But to do it twice during a few hours... So we got the place 14th. I think it's very good among the world's best skiers like Saarinen, Kuitunen etc..!! and next morning I really felt like I had been doing something extraordinary^^' In biathlon you never had that kind of races! But how weird that sounds, it felt easier than in a while..maybe the sunshine and warm weather had risen up my spirit and musclework^^D anyways it was easy to reach my normal maxpulse.. It hadn't happened since december...^/ extremely cold weathers had taken the sharpest shape!

What comes to the relay on Sat. I took the second leg, and managed to bring us to exchange as 14th, having a good leg!! (oh, don't mention about the first exchange.. eh. maybe I was a bit "sleepy" cause I missed Sarkku's coming to the exchange area so that she had to wait me a while, me rushing past the girls in the queue:D) anyways, we didn't loose that much time:D we end up to the place 24th in the end, the last girl had just been sick so her goal was to ski into the finish! After all not bad races!!:) We'll have two biathlon races in April but let's see if there's any snow left then:D

Then I jumped into my car, rushed back to home, quick packing and coffeepause with a friend.. Off we go to Vaasa and early on Sunday morning to Sweden!!;) yeee. That I had been waiting so long time.. My coach wasn't really happy about my plans, but what he can do,) The season in Finland is pretty much over, and my urge to visit friends in Sweden was really strong. So after 500kms driving through Finland to the west coast I was in the night in Vaasa and at 8 o'clock (am) the pizzaboat headed to Umeå! (do not forget to change the summertime, "¤&#%%%!!^^) after 6 (!!!) hours of this horrible seatrip I rested a while in Umeå by my dear friend Anki, watching the last biathlon WCH race of the year!:) lovely! Congrats to Germany for the 1st place, to Norway for the 2nd place and of course to Sweden with the 3rd place!!:))

Then it was already time to continue to Östersund, accommodation still unknown:P That's in the next blog then...;) now off to sunshine and ski a while,) Ciao! I return here with some pics.. and stories from Sweden,)