Today marked our last practice before synchro competition starts tomorrow with duets. After 3 days of duets, there is just one day off until team competition begins. I can't believe that all the waiting is almost over!
Practice went pretty well today, although our music time at the cube was not until 4:00 so we had a long day. We started again at BNU but today we got to eat lunch there in their amazing cafeteria. It was a highlight of the day! Another highlight was the warm-up CD that we listened to this morning. Kim, one of our captains, often makes CDs to listen to while we warm up every morning. But this one is extra special because it is our Olympic mix with such songs as Neil Diamond's "Coming to America" and Kim's original "Hero" compilation. It's a great way to start the day! We also had our last practice with Sean our circus school teacher, and it was sad to say goodbye for the last time. It was a foreshadow of things to come...there will be a lot of goodbyes before too long!
The final highlight of the day was watching the men's 400 m relay capture gold and watching Michael Phelps win his record 8th gold medal of the Olympics. What an incredible athlete! I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to watch such a historical event, and to be a member of the US team with him on it! His story is among the many memories I will take home with me after the games are over and I'm back to living a regular life!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Practice back in Beijing
Today started out with a morning practice at BNU, the US-only training center that's about 15 minutes (give or take 30 minutes depending on traffic) away from the village. We had a little longer warm-up than usual due to our day off yesterday. It sounds funny, but sometimes you kind of need some time to get re-acquainted with the water again after a day off!
Unfortunately we didn't get to eat lunch at BNU, as we had to head strait to the competition pool after practice. I was looking forward to the food there because it is so outstanding! But the boxed lunches the food staff made for us were pretty decent: plain turkey sandwiches w/ condiments on the side on nice, soft, American bread. My kind of sandwich!
We had a really good afternoon practice at the cube with some music time in the competition pool. The coaches were impressed with both our programs, but especially free since we didn't do too much to warm it up and it still looked pretty good. We only stayed in the the warm-up pool for a little bit to fix things...sometimes the warm-up pool time lasts for hours! And now we have some time off to relax before dinner and a video/land-drill session later this evening.
Our coaches also told us today that they've made official decisions about our players in each program, which means that Becky is well enough to swim the tech program next week in competition. For those who don't know, she was recovering from an arm injury that has been plaguing her for a couple months now. I'm so happy for her--there was a time when she wasn't sure she was going to be here! At the same time that means I'll just be swimming the free program since I was filling in for her in the tech during her recovery. I'm a little disappointed about not swimming tech, especially since I've been working on it for so long now. But that feeling is definitely overshadowed by the honor I feel to be in the free program and to be competing at the Olympics with the world's best athletes. It's just incredible to look around the computer room where I'm typing this blog, the cafeteria where I eat dinner, or even the elevator up to my room and be surrounded by so many talented and amazing people. And it's incredible that I'm part of all of it!
Unfortunately we didn't get to eat lunch at BNU, as we had to head strait to the competition pool after practice. I was looking forward to the food there because it is so outstanding! But the boxed lunches the food staff made for us were pretty decent: plain turkey sandwiches w/ condiments on the side on nice, soft, American bread. My kind of sandwich!
We had a really good afternoon practice at the cube with some music time in the competition pool. The coaches were impressed with both our programs, but especially free since we didn't do too much to warm it up and it still looked pretty good. We only stayed in the the warm-up pool for a little bit to fix things...sometimes the warm-up pool time lasts for hours! And now we have some time off to relax before dinner and a video/land-drill session later this evening.
Our coaches also told us today that they've made official decisions about our players in each program, which means that Becky is well enough to swim the tech program next week in competition. For those who don't know, she was recovering from an arm injury that has been plaguing her for a couple months now. I'm so happy for her--there was a time when she wasn't sure she was going to be here! At the same time that means I'll just be swimming the free program since I was filling in for her in the tech during her recovery. I'm a little disappointed about not swimming tech, especially since I've been working on it for so long now. But that feeling is definitely overshadowed by the honor I feel to be in the free program and to be competing at the Olympics with the world's best athletes. It's just incredible to look around the computer room where I'm typing this blog, the cafeteria where I eat dinner, or even the elevator up to my room and be surrounded by so many talented and amazing people. And it's incredible that I'm part of all of it!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Day off in the village
Today was an absolutly perfect day to have off back in the Olympic village. The sun was shining, it wasn't too terribly warm, and there were really exciting events to watch! I started the day with a trip to the water cube--not to swim but to watch some swimming finals. I saw the men's 200 m back, the women's 200 m breast, and a couple semi-final events before I headed back to the village to explore. I am so happy for our US swimmers who are doing so well!!
The village is so huge. When I'm walking from my room to the "caf" everyday, I hardly realize that it is really like a small city's downtown! I went into the international zone for the first time, which has, among other things, a book store, a souvenier store, and a couple of cafe's run by Olympic sponsers. Every time I go in an Olympic store I have to stop myself from buying one of every thing inside...even the most tackiest of products is appealing when it has "Beijing 2008" on it! I managed to leave with only a couple items though, which I'll likely never use.
In the afternoon I took it easy. I watched various events on the TV in our room that has a live-feed of any event going on. Some cycling finals were going on as well as a softball game and water polo game. I took a short nap, and found some time to organize and move into my room, which I really havn't had time to properly do since I got here the first time. Anyone who knows me knows that I like being organized, and so it was a big relief to get that done! It was also nice today just taking my time eating lunch and dinner, enjoying the company of my team-mates and meeting other US athletes who stopped by to chat.
Tomorrow it's back to work at the pool...duet competition starts on Monday and teams start 4 days after that. I am so anxious and excited to start! I feel ready to go and show our stuff to the world!
The village is so huge. When I'm walking from my room to the "caf" everyday, I hardly realize that it is really like a small city's downtown! I went into the international zone for the first time, which has, among other things, a book store, a souvenier store, and a couple of cafe's run by Olympic sponsers. Every time I go in an Olympic store I have to stop myself from buying one of every thing inside...even the most tackiest of products is appealing when it has "Beijing 2008" on it! I managed to leave with only a couple items though, which I'll likely never use.
In the afternoon I took it easy. I watched various events on the TV in our room that has a live-feed of any event going on. Some cycling finals were going on as well as a softball game and water polo game. I took a short nap, and found some time to organize and move into my room, which I really havn't had time to properly do since I got here the first time. Anyone who knows me knows that I like being organized, and so it was a big relief to get that done! It was also nice today just taking my time eating lunch and dinner, enjoying the company of my team-mates and meeting other US athletes who stopped by to chat.
Tomorrow it's back to work at the pool...duet competition starts on Monday and teams start 4 days after that. I am so anxious and excited to start! I feel ready to go and show our stuff to the world!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Back in Beijing
I'm back in Beijing today, and back to the excitement of the Olympic Village. We had our last Korea training practice yesterday morning and then headed to the airport to find our flight back four hours delayed! Our coaches joked that we could have stayed in the pool longer...we didn't think it was as funny as they did. We got in pretty late last night, but it was nice not having to set an alarm this morning because it's our day off! I've been looking forward to today, and I'm hoping to make it to a couple of events and look around the village a bit. I can already tell that things are more exciting than when we left because the village was already buzzing at 7:30 when I went to breakfast...yep sleeping in is now waking up at 7:00!! I'm exciting to be part of it, too!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Showtime practice
I got up this morning, packed my bag, and ate breakfast just like it was a competition day. Our team did our usual meet day warm up in the pool, we warmed up certain hybrids (leg moves) and strokes (arm moves) that need particular focus, and we had our 15 minutes of scheduled music time. Then we put up our hair, which we call "knoxing" because we use knox gelatin, put on lots of make-up, and put on our newly-finished competition suits for the first time. Finally, we got in to kick out our legs, visualized the free routine all together, and walked out on deck. Then it was SHOWTIME!!!
The only difference was that it was practice, not the real thing. Our coaches wanted everything this morning to be just like our competition so we could feel what we're going to feel like so nothing is a surprise on competition day. I was just as nervous today as I am in competition, which is exactly what they wanted us to feel. And I was just as excited swimming the routine through as I am during competition. Of course there is no real comparison to the feelings and emotions we'll be feeling in another week and a half, I mean this is they Olympics!!! But it was a good start and good preparation. We had a pretty good swim. Not our best so far (which the coaches said was our last swim last night at 7:00 pm), but that's why this was still practice!
We're heading back to the pool this afternoon to do a little work on tech, and then we'll be packing up all our stuff to head back to Beijing tomorrow afternoon. It's been such an exhausting and difficult few days, but at the same time we've improved so much that it has definitely been worth it. I'll be sad to leave South Korea and the helpful and wonderful people we've met here. But it will be fun to be back in the village to feel the excitement of the competition that seems so far away right now!
The only difference was that it was practice, not the real thing. Our coaches wanted everything this morning to be just like our competition so we could feel what we're going to feel like so nothing is a surprise on competition day. I was just as nervous today as I am in competition, which is exactly what they wanted us to feel. And I was just as excited swimming the routine through as I am during competition. Of course there is no real comparison to the feelings and emotions we'll be feeling in another week and a half, I mean this is they Olympics!!! But it was a good start and good preparation. We had a pretty good swim. Not our best so far (which the coaches said was our last swim last night at 7:00 pm), but that's why this was still practice!
We're heading back to the pool this afternoon to do a little work on tech, and then we'll be packing up all our stuff to head back to Beijing tomorrow afternoon. It's been such an exhausting and difficult few days, but at the same time we've improved so much that it has definitely been worth it. I'll be sad to leave South Korea and the helpful and wonderful people we've met here. But it will be fun to be back in the village to feel the excitement of the competition that seems so far away right now!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Still at it....
Last night's dinner was everything I had hoped it would be! The beef was amazing and they cooked it right there on the table for us in special grills. They also served this iced noodle soup thing, which I've decided will skip if I ever eat there again. We had frozen persimmons for dessert--not as good as chocolate, but still really good. I've never had a persimmon before, but it's kind of like a cross between an apple and mango.
After a delicious dinner last night, the coaches decided to give us a little break this morning. We slept in 2 hours (crazy, huh?) and only worked on land this morning. We've been needing to spend some time on our deck-work (the stuff we do on the deck before we enter the water), so it was good to spend some time making it better and working out all the kinks. We also had time to land-drill a bit which means we go through our routine on land for timing, patterns, matching, and performance.
We're heading back to the pool this afternoon for a little longer than usual since we had the morning off. But it will be fine because I feel rejuvenated after a full night's sleep and a more relaxed morning. Plus, our other coach/consultant Gail Emery flies in today and we're anxious to see her. Gail is a veteran Olympic coach...this will be her 5th Olympics! She always helps create a more exciting and relaxed atmosphere on deck and plus it's always nice seeing people again when you haven't seen them for a week or more!
Speaking of seeing people, I can't wait to see my family again in a week--my parents and sister arrive on the 18th and Erick and his mom arrive the 19th. Even if I can't spend time with them, I'll be able to see them up in the stands during duet competition! It is so nice knowing there will be so many people in Beijing to support me and my team, including those that are there in spirit!
After a delicious dinner last night, the coaches decided to give us a little break this morning. We slept in 2 hours (crazy, huh?) and only worked on land this morning. We've been needing to spend some time on our deck-work (the stuff we do on the deck before we enter the water), so it was good to spend some time making it better and working out all the kinks. We also had time to land-drill a bit which means we go through our routine on land for timing, patterns, matching, and performance.
We're heading back to the pool this afternoon for a little longer than usual since we had the morning off. But it will be fine because I feel rejuvenated after a full night's sleep and a more relaxed morning. Plus, our other coach/consultant Gail Emery flies in today and we're anxious to see her. Gail is a veteran Olympic coach...this will be her 5th Olympics! She always helps create a more exciting and relaxed atmosphere on deck and plus it's always nice seeing people again when you haven't seen them for a week or more!
Speaking of seeing people, I can't wait to see my family again in a week--my parents and sister arrive on the 18th and Erick and his mom arrive the 19th. Even if I can't spend time with them, I'll be able to see them up in the stands during duet competition! It is so nice knowing there will be so many people in Beijing to support me and my team, including those that are there in spirit!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Nose to the grindstone
Well, it's Monday here, and Mondays are particularly "Mondayish" when you don't have a weekend before them, or even one weekend day! We're definitely putting in all our work and hours now so that we will be ready in another week. We had practice this am already, and then after lunch we'll head back to the pool for another session.
But even despite the work, it is still incredible to be here and to have this experience. We love checking the NBC website or the news to see how our team-mates are doing back in Beijing. Michael Phelps has already won 2 medals I hear! And our routines are getting better every day. Stephane said that our tech swim today was the best he's seen yet! Not bad for the end of a 4 hour practice! And tonight we're going to a really popular and delicious Korean BBQ restaurant which I'm looking forward to. If you've never had Korean BBQ, you simply must go! It is amazing!!
I hope everyone back home is doing well, and again I can't thank you enough for the comments and emails. I look forward to blogging every day just so I can ready them!!!
But even despite the work, it is still incredible to be here and to have this experience. We love checking the NBC website or the news to see how our team-mates are doing back in Beijing. Michael Phelps has already won 2 medals I hear! And our routines are getting better every day. Stephane said that our tech swim today was the best he's seen yet! Not bad for the end of a 4 hour practice! And tonight we're going to a really popular and delicious Korean BBQ restaurant which I'm looking forward to. If you've never had Korean BBQ, you simply must go! It is amazing!!
I hope everyone back home is doing well, and again I can't thank you enough for the comments and emails. I look forward to blogging every day just so I can ready them!!!
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