Inspiration

Sometimes people ask what inspires me. Well today at practice I heard a story about a runner who is a fellow member of Team USA: Lopez Lomong. I'm going to tell a very brief version of his story, but I think you should definitely check out his profile at NBCOlympics.com. What an amazing person...

Lopez was kidnapped when he was six years old from his village in Sudan. After spending some time in a prison camp, he managed to escape to Kenya (a 3-day run) to a refugee camp where he spent the next 10 years. He learned how to write and entered as essay contest with the prize being adoption by a US family. He won and ended up in upstate New York where he learned about such luxuries as clean, warm, running water and electricity. He joined the track team, received a scholarship to Arizona, and made the 2008 Olympic Team!

On days when the pool is really cold, the mornings are really dark, the practice is really long, and it seems like you can do nothing right, one thing that really helps is a little perspective. The struggles I've been through seem pretty small in comparison to what this Olympian has overcome. I am both honored and inspired to be representing the same country as this incredible individual.

Only 10 days till Opening Ceremonies...

When to watch synchro on TV

I've been meaning to post this for a week now, but as you can imagine my life has been pretty hectic. My "to do before I leave" list keeps growing, not shrinking! So here's when you can watch some synchro on TV. All the synchro events are the last week of the Olympics. The prime-time and late night listings are PT/ET, while the day time listings are the same no matter what time zone you're in. I hope either you or your Tivo can catch some of the coverage!

Tuesday, August 19: Duet Technical on Oxygen 6:00-8:00 pm
Wednesday, August 20: Duet Free final on Oxygen 6:00-8:00 pm
Friday, August 22: Team Technical on NBC and NBC HD 12:35-2:00 am
Saturday, August 23: Team Free final on NBC and NBC HD 10:00am-6:00 pm

In addition, watch for me in the Opening Ceremonies on August 8 and the Closing Ceremonies on August 24th. I'll be at both!!

Outfitted and (almost) ready to go!

I spent the afternoon shopping at the USOC apparel distribution in San Jose. What a fun afternoon! Pushing my shopping cart down the aisle, I got one of every thing they offered in whatever size fit me best. If things didn't fit quite right, there were alterations experts on site to lend a hand. And the best part--all the shirts, shoes, pants, jackets, and bags were completely free of charge! The volunteers and USOC staff were so helpful and friendly, and there were even representatives from Ralph Lauren (one of the clothing sponsors) to make sure all of our clothes fit just right. I can't give too much away, but I can tell you that the Opening Ceremonies outfits are quite classy and you'll see American medalists looking pretty sharp up on the medal stand!

We received all our attire from Speedo last night. So now, all we need to be competition-ready is a couple more weeks of practice and our competition suits, which are being decorated to the hilt as I type. The proto-types we've seen so far are outstanding and I can't wait to see the final products.

Beyond the excitement of the last few days (our coach Stephane called it Christmas!!), practice has been going pretty well. In the technical program we're trying to make final changes to elements to show them off. And in the free we're working on presentation and synchronization. We want people to be mesmerized by our swim! It will be back to practice as usual on Monday after a much-needed day off tomorrow. I'll probably need to spend at least a few hours finding places for all the new stuff! Only 19 days to go!

Riverside Demo

I just got back from a quick trip down to Riverside, CA for another exhibition of our Olympic programs. This showing was our most difficult yet, as the duet did both of their programs and we swam both teams all the way through. Again we were met with an amazing crowd. Even my great-aunt made an appearance! I can't even express how wonderful it feels to have so many loving and supportive people around me as I make this journey!

Our routines are continuing to improve, though we still have work to do. In particular we need to work on connecting different sections together and making our lifts just as good in the routines as they are when we spend time working on them at practice. And there's always the performance aspect that we're striving to improve--making our routine look easy and effortless and captivating our audience.

Besides our usual training schedule this week, we have two days of processing where we get outfitted with all our Olympic gear. It should be lots of fun, although it will also reiterate that we're on the home stretch now with only 26 days to go!

Happy Fourth of July

This year's Independence Day holiday has a new importance with the upcoming games. I feel so proud and fortunate to be able to represent the Red, White, and Blue in Beijing. The 4th of July also took on a new meaning when I realized that I leave for the Olympics on August 4, only one month away! I have no doubt that this month will fly by.

In the meantime, it was really nice to be able to spend some time with good friends this weekend as we had a short break from organized training (at this point there are no real breaks!). I spent Friday evening at a laid back BBQ and Scrabble tournament celebrating the 4th. Saturday night I was out and about with my sister and friends in celebration of her upcoming wedding. And finally, I dedicated Sunday to spending time with Erick at a delicious breakfast and relaxing day. It was nice to be a "normal" person for a couple days--I have a feeling this is going to be the last weekend like this for a while! Tomorrow I'll be back at the pool as usual, but with more energy and a greater sense of urgency about the date: 32 days until Opening Ceremonies!

What an Experience

I can't even express how amazing it was to perform for the 13-15 Age Group Championships on Tuesday. What a fantastic crowd!!! I couldn't believe it! I think the pinnacle came when we got a standing ovation at the end of our third lap--we hadn't even finished swimming our routine through! I, along with all my teammates, feel so loved and supported and excited for the big event, and we're so proud of what we've accomplished so far.

I also had a wonderful time talking with the athletes, coaches, and families at the meet. I loved catching up with athletes I've coached and coaches that have worked with me in the past, and I was thrilled to meet so many synchro fans. It was humbling to think that all of us on the team had been in the athlete's shoes just a decade (or so) ago. Just looking back at my own career, I went from barley qualifying for the Age Group competition my first year, then being excited about making finals, then being excited about medaling, then finally, by last year in Age Groups, winning gold! Congratulations to all for a job well done!