Day #2

Yes, this is written on the same day as my last entry, but I still wanted to tell you all about today. So lucky you...two entries at once!

We had a full day of practice today, which started with breakfast at 6:15. The cafeteria is a little walk from my room, especially cause I live on the 8th floor and I usually take the stairs down (not up!) There are lots of options at meals, but the funny thing is that they appear to be the same options. For example, I'm not sure I'd ever eat sushi for breakfast, but I guess there's someone out there that might! There is a Mediterranean station that serves pasta and pizza, an Asian station, and an International station which is kind of a mix of things. Then theres a salad bar, a deli, a bread basket of sorts, and a dessert table. And of course there's a McDonalds! I'm surprised by the number of athletes that eat there all the time. Christina said she saw someone with a big plate full of meatballs and two orders of large fries! There's unlimited coke, coffee, orange juice, water, and ice cream as well.

Everything in Beijing takes longer than you think. We were scheduled to be at the practice pool which was only 30 minutes away at 8:00--you'd think leaving at 7 would be no problem! Unless you're in Beijing where there is rush hour at every hour. Our bus was late picking us up, and combined with the traffic we arrived with barely enough time to warm up before our official time with music began at 8:30. Luckily the officials at the pool let us have a few extra minutes because the team after us had canceled their music time.

The afternoon practice was at the Water Cube which is beautiful inside and out. It was so amazing swimming there, especially since we got to sit in the stands already in April. The top-most seats seem miles away! The only downside to practice at "the Cube" is the pool temp which is a more speed-swimmer friendly 79 degrees...I'd prefer at least 82!

Tonight I finally have some time to think and relax, and catch up on blogging. I have a meeting in a few minutes with the USOC staff that will fill us in with all the details we've missed, and then its off to bed for another day of practice tomorrow. We might be filming a slot for the Thursday morning Today Show tomorrow night...I'll keep you posted!