Reflections

I know I've not written in a while and I'm very sincerely sorry for that. Since the day of my race it's been a whirlwind of activities that has kept me from sitting down on my computer long enough to write something meaningful.

So the topic you've all been waiting for – my race.

I went to bed the night before around 11 pm; woke up around 8 am. I slept like a baby and felt VERY energized. I thought it would be a great day. I did some stretching and a little light “wakeup” calisthenics to get my body going in the morning. As you all know by now preliminaries at the Olympics are at 6:30 pm Beijing time, which means it's different from any other swim meet I've ever done where preliminaries are in the morning. As a result it was imperative that I make sure my engine was warmed up for the rest of the day.

I lounged around a bit, ate breakfast and lunch, and began to prepare for my 100 fly. I took some NO-Xplode as well as some Nitrix immediately before warming up. Things seemed to be working really well. My stroke was coming together, everything felt effortless, I was confident that I'd do something I'd never done before. It was time to go to the ready room.
Sitting in the ready room I went through my usual race visualization, listening to music, and thinking positive thoughts. One thing I noticed however was that I was unable to perfectly visualize my race. I had real trouble “feeling” it through in my mind. I had no choice but to deal with it. They called our heat to walk out. Time to go.

As I started walking out I noticed that I began to shake. While putting my goggles on I had trouble because my fingers were shaking so badly. Now it's normal for me to get nervous; I usually do get excited and nervous before a big race. But somehow this felt different. My usual nerves leave me with a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach and a general lethargy before I go up to the blocks. These nerves had me shaking from head to toe. It turns out that the first type of anxiety is good for me; the second type isn't so good.
Take your marks. BEEP!

And it's on! I had my mind on one thing – touch the wall first. And be FAST. And again...this isn't what I usually have on my mind. Needless to say, it didn't work out so well. I took out the race at a higher rate of perceived exertion than I typically do, and had NO juice coming home the last 15 meters. I can be somewhat “arrogant” in my race strategy during training meets. I usually take the race out as slow as I can deliberately. If I'm hitting the wall in 6th or 7th place at the 50m, I'm in good stead. Then I just come back as fast as I can and zoom past people one by one. Apparently this works best for me. It's a shame I tried to race out hard the first half at the Olympic Games, only the biggest stage for our sport. I suppose that sort of arrogance could've come in handy. I finished with a 54.7, far off my best and also behind my fastest training time from the summer. It's a hard lesson to learn. But I've learned it.

After a bad race there are so many “what if's” that run through my mind. So many possibilities, things I could've changed, etc. etc. I didn't sleep that night out of sheer disappointment. What if I'd have listened to people telling me I should race a meet or two immediately before I go? What if I'd not have forgotten my CellMass? What if I would've just gone out there and enjoyed myself rather than feel pressurized? What if I'd have done a time trial 3 days beforehand to get the jitters out of my system? What if I didn't attend the grueling opening ceremony and rested instead? I feel like I've let a lot of people down having done what I did. It makes me feel spoiled for being here without having contributed something of value to the performance of India's Olympic Team and Trojan Swim Club; even something as simple as a best time would've kept me sane. It makes me feel embarrassed because I didn't deliver. But here I am now. I've competed in the Olympic Games. As my coach Dave says, I got my money's worth. Or did I?

The first day after my race I had too much running through my mind. It got to the point where I debated giving up on continuing competitive swimming after the NCAA season thinking that everyone's passing me anyway. But the more I speak to people and get some perspective, the more motivated I become to continue with greater determination than before. I've come to learn about so many things that I can change and improve upon not just on race day, but during every day of the year. I've come to realize the importance of simulating a World Championship or Olympic-level race at local swim meets rather than goofing off. I may swim the same way, but at least I'll do it with the mindset that this is how I should develop my championship meet strategy as well. To those of you who read this and are multi-time world record breakers and gold medalists in your first Olympic games (past and present), I congratulate you heartily for doing it all on your first go. Now I understand how big a deal it is. That goes for you too Reb. Not even Michael Phelps can say he was a medalist in his first Olympic appearance in 2000.

While I'm far from being in that league (even mentally), I've at least recovered well enough from a poor race to be able to say I'd like to continue on the road toward achieving my goals, small or large. And like I said in my interview to an Indian news agent after my race, keep on rooting for me and all those you look up to. It drives us when we're down, and pushes us when we're weak. It lights our fire and gets us going. And the simple conveyance that one of you may genuinely believe in us even when we don't believe in ourselves may be the difference between spending a whole year dragging our feet or living that same year holding our heads up high. To those of you who have believed in me in such a way, thank you. It's meant a lot.

Opening Ceremonies

To those of you who took the time out to watch the Opening Ceremonies, thank you. It was great to read emails and messages from my friends and family who watched it happen!
I can officially say I've walked the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games. What an honor. It was quite an experience, both positive and negative. The torch lighting ceremony was magnificent. It was definitely my favorite part. Just as important was the fact that I walked with my teammate, Rehan Poncha. Over the past year I've told Rehan that I will not walk the Opening in Beijing alone; I wanted to see him right alongside me. To see this dream of ours come true is surreal. It's sort of an “is this really happening?” feeling. I figure getting married is somewhat similar. Kipp and Bartel: get back to me on that one.

The trek getting to the Opening Ceremony was a lot of bus riding, sitting and waiting, as well as walking around near the National Stadium. There was a giant snaking line leading from the Gymnasium where we were seated all the way towards our entryway into the National Stadium on opening night. That's all fine and dandy...but the heat was BRUTAL! The moment you step outside here in Beijing, it's like being hit by a misty wall of sauna heat. It doesn't go away until you get yourself indoors. For whatever reason, the day of the Opening Ceremony was particularly bad. We were breaking a sweat INDOORS as well. Eventually everyone sort of gave up on the idea of looking fresh. We were perspiring like it was going out of style. It wore many of us down to the point where we were lying on the floor of the stadium, hoping and praying that the event would finish soon. That and our legs were definitely sore from standing around and walking for so long. It's surprising that the simple act of standing and walking can be so exhausting. I woke up the next morning terribly dehydrated (my pee was golden brown) and the dehydration lasted all day long. I felt dizzy and as if I were coming down with a nasty viral infection. I think I'm finally at the point where I'm recovered and feeling fresh again. It's taken a lot of conscious effort to recover though. I did everything from taking regular drinks of water, vitalyte and tea; swimming a few thousand easy yards; full body stretching; “going horizontal” (lying down) as well as avoiding going outdoors into the heat when it's unnecessary. While I was half-thinking that I may have sacrificed a bit in terms of performance, I think I'll be alright considering I have four more days to recover.

As I'm sure many of you know times so far have been incredibly fast. Props to Sandeep Sejwal for going a 1:02.19 in the 100 Breastroke, a new national record and a ridiculously fast time. It's just a matter of time Sandeep before you're a key player on the International Scene.

Another congrats out to Larsen and Ous for their performances in the 400m freestyle finals. For those of you who don't know, Ous swam that with a herniated disc in his back. He toughed it out and still managed a personal best and 5th place at the Olympics – not bad I say.
I still have 4 days to go. Salo has me doing a 50 sprint for time tomorrow just to wake myself up and remind myself how to race. Other than that, I'm resting and getting ready.

Believe

To all of you interested in participating in international-level athletics, pay attention.

WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency, has increased its regulations in the past few years. One thing that they require of all athletes is a TUE, or Theraputic Use Exemption form. The purpose of this form is to list all of your prescription medications and their dosages. The form must be signed off by a physician, the director of your national federation, and yourself. The form must be submitted in original copy to your country's Olympic Association. Now if your federation is India, they will have a little trouble keeping track of your TUE. In fact, it'll be lost in approximately 24 hours of having been given to them. So the best plan is to have a clear copy to yourself. After you submit it to them personally and they “can't find” it, the anti-doping council at your competition will demand your TUE since they have no other way of documenting your medications. As a result, this will send your federation into a frenzy and will require you to go get a whole slew of tests done at a local hospital in order to verify that you in fact require medication. Just do yourself a favor and protect yourself; keep clear original copies of all of your TUE's, and don't ever submit the original to your federation in good faith that it will be looked after properly.

And I'm off to the hospital in one hour for those tests...

Coming into a major competition is both an experience for the senses but is also an experience for one's mental fitness. I can't stress enough just how valuable experience has been in getting me mentally prepared for these Games and beyond. During my first international competition, the Asian Games in 2006, I was a mental head case. I swam miserably slow times because I couldn't shake off the nerves that overcame me before every race. I somehow had the impression that there was immeasurable pressure on me to do things that I didn't believe I could. After seeing that everyone was very supportive regardless of my results, I calmed down a bit by the time 2007 Melbourne World Championships rolled around. And from there onwards through other meets I've become progressively more relaxed. It lets me get even closer to realizing my full potential in my performances as I gain that experience.

Despite of this challenges still remain. I have a personal desire to be a finalist someday at a major international competition such as the Olympics or Worlds which motivates me to compete and improve. I also hope to earn medals for India at certain competitions before my career is over. The way I see it, much of this is just slightly out of my reach right now. I frankly don't quite have the times yet to say I'll make those goals without a little hesitation in my voice. Will I be able to do it in the future? I sure hope so. It has been a long road getting here, and I've had that sort of doubt in the past.

As a high school swimmer, I watched state and national championships in which my peers were far ahead of me in their performances. I had mixed feelings seeing that. Part of me wished dearly to be in their company, contending for titles and leading a team. The other part of me thought I should give up because there's no chance I'll be there; dropping 10+ seconds is nothing but a dream. And international swimming? Forget about it. That's another league that I don't have the privilege of joining. I'm not big enough, strong enough, committed enough, whatever.
I decided to trudge on, hoping that maybe I was wrong about myself. Year by year I managed to drop those seconds I never thought I could. Suddenly I wasn't thinking about squeaking my way into a State or National age group final as a high school senior. I had the confidence to know I'd go that far. I changed my focus to winning and scoring points for my team in the final. I moved on to university, and yet again faced doubts. Another 6 seconds to drop before I could reasonably be an Olympian; another 2 seconds after that to be a finalist; another half second to be in the hunt for medals at an international competition. And here I am now. I've crossed the Olympian mark, comfortable in my own skin having come this far. But goals still remain. Having overcome so many small challenges on the way to getting here has really boosted my confidence in my ability to accomplish what ever I have left to do.

Throughout this process I've met a handful of people whom I admire greatly; champions who have done what I long ago only wished I could do. And you know what they always said? They said I could do it. They believed in me not even knowing my name, let alone my skills. It had nothing to do with me being something magical; it had everything to do with their confidence that anyone who dreams big can achieve big. They have no fear telling others to dream big themselves. So if you're out there reading this now, know that I believe in you too no matter who you are. Dream big.

What's stopping you? Are you afraid that your dreams might actually come true? **gasp!** Oh NO, not that!

Italia

When we went to the pool last night to do our workout, we found that many teams had staked out preparation areas around the warm-up pool. Italy, a country famous for it's national pride (remember World Cup?), had a great setup complete with massage tables, flags, banners, and what have you. The next morning, I came in to find Italy's entire section vandalized. The flags were torn down and strewn across the ground, stretch mats were missing, banners were torn off. It seems like someone has some serious beef with Italy; I just can't seem to figure out who. And so the rivalries begin.

A lot of my friends have arrived within the past two days. Things have definitely been more lively since they've come here, as you can tell from Klete's expression here. I've also been making new friends through friends. Not much else has developed since then, so signing off for now.

Morning Workout:
4x4x4 Warm-up
10x50 0:20 Rest Butterfly kick + scull underwater
10x50 0:20 Rest 1x1 single-arm butterfly drill
5x100 1:30 interval Freestyle HR 26+
6x50 on 0:50 interval Freestyle HR 26+
Tension Cords (Thanks Rehan):
6 Medium-Rate Swims against Doubled-up Cording – 8 Stroke Cycles, 0:30 Rest
10 Medium-Rate Sculls + 12 Dolphin Kicks, 0:30 Rest
2 Faster-Than-Race-Pace 20m Sprints against single-cord belt butterfly, 1:00 rest

300 Loosen Down

Afternoon Workout:
Weight Room & Gym
Ergometer “Growler” on Level 3 – Pull to 400 Points Butterfly
Tension Cords: 10 Reps, 2x: Butterfly Pulls, Tricep Extensions, Rotator Cuff (in-n-out)
TechnoGym: 8 Reps, 2x Through: Horizontal “Lawnmower” Pull on 40kg Weight
Core Work:
Toe Touches, Streamlines, Suitcase Crunch, Fupas (Kipp what's a Fupa?), Oblique Tripods, Pushups w/ Neagatives

Dragonfruit

Beijing Log – Day 3
我烧死了！
Today is SO HOT! Walking outside is brutal. I'm sweating worse than Pat Rafter on a tennis court. I'm so glad our apartments have air conditioning.
Lunch #1:
Salad
1 pc. Teriyaki Chicken Breast
1 scoop White Rice
Balti Chicken
2 slices Whole Grain Bread
2 slices Dragonfruit
Water
Lunch #2:
1 scoop Fried Rice w/ Eggs
Potato & Lamb Stew
Broccoli Florets
2 Small Plums
Grapes
Whole-grain sesame & dried fruit “rice crispy” treat that's a lot healthier than anything you'd normally consider rice crispy treats
Powerade Lemon-Grapefruit Flavor (this stuff tastes so good)
One thing about eating healthy food is that it's not nearly as calorie-dense as, say, a double-double animal style from In-N-Out. As a result, I feel miserable if I don't eat small meals more frequently because my body's craving more calories. So I'm averaging five to six small, lean, healthy meals a day right now rather than having three big ones.
Morning workout:
2000 easy
2x25 dive “floppy arm” sprints
I feel pretty exhausted today, I think the jetlag and heat is starting to wear me down. My Indian swim teammates will arrive tonight. I'm looking forward to seeing them again.
I didn't bother bringing shaving cream, thinking I'd just buy some over here. Turns out shaving cream at the Olympic Village general store is 100 RMB (renminbi). I asked for a “meiyuan” conversion, which means translating it to US dollars. Turns out shaving cream is $15! That's no joke. I set it down and walked out. It cost half as much to buy a 6-socket 2500-Watt power surge protector as it did to buy shaving cream there. How strange. So hopefully I'll have some time to go out and buy some from a regular street store tomorrow.
Here's a picture of the leisure pool at the athlete recreation center in the Village – it's quite a nice place.

So the rest of the team just arrived. Rehan, Sandeep and Virdhawal are here along with coaches Nihar and Pradeep. It's great to have some friends to talk to now. Rehan just qualified a few weeks ago in the 200m butterfly and broke a long-standing Indian record in the event. He's the one guy on the team whom I'm closest to. He also has been trying very hard to make the Olympic cut and to have finally seen him having done it was great.
Signing off for tonight, I'm going to catch up with my teammates.
Goodnight!

Luck 'O the Irish

I slept really well even though the beds may as well be sleeping bags placed on the tile floor. Woke up at 6:00 am on my own accord.

Today's breakfast:
3 Tablets BSN Nitrix
2 scoops of...wait...where's my CellMass?! I thought I packed it! **(internalized cursing)**
Contingency Plan:
1 ½ scoops NO-Xplode...I live for unnecessary jitters and involuntarily being “in the zone” even though I don't need to be
**30 minute break**
1 bowl of: warm oatmeal + muesli cereal + whole milk + brown sugar
1 plate of: breakfast potatoes and halal beef bacon
2 small plums
**30 minute break**
5 oz. Steak and Iced Tea

As I was walking to the bus, I found that the air was INCREDIBLY clear today! The rainstorm really cleared things up and the humidity went down significantly. Just check out the difference between these pictures from yesterday to today:

That and I saw two swimmers from Ireland on the bus. I've never seen Irish swimmers before, so that was a first. They have cool accents. But no tan. Kinda like Peter Marshall. Except he doesn't have the accent. And he has serious freckles. So not like Peter Marshall.

Morning workout:
Oh hey! They have a Technogym and “Growlers!” Johnsen this is a workout dream come true for you. They had about 20 of them in a row. For those of you who don't know what a growler is, I'm sorry I can't really think of what it's called. Consider it similar to a VASA Trainer.
Technogym:
2x8 Reps of: Chest Press, Overhead Pulls, Tricep Extensions on medium weight
5 minutes of Growler action at level 3 (medium-light resistance). Butterfly pulls, varying the stroke by pulling at different distances from my body. All at a medium rate.
Core work:
Sets of 10 reps each in succession: Crunches, Toe-Touch, Alternating V-Sit, Fupas (Hey Kipp what's a Fupa?), Suitcase Crunch

En la Piscina:
500m Easy Warm-Up
5x100m Backstroke on 2:00 for Stroke (wow, I feel SO much better today!)
10x50m Backstroke on 1:10 (10 dolphin kicks off every wall? I could barely do 4 yesterday!)
4x[0:10 second fast vertical kick on 0:30 + 1x15m sprint backstroke breakout (12 dolphin kicks)]
5x100m (First 50: 3x3x3 butterfly drill, Second 50: long-stroke freestyle w/ high elbow)
4x15m Butterfly finishes into wall
2x35m Butterfly sprints from block. Yesterday I needed 12 kicks to get to the 15m line; today I needed only 10 off the blocks with a dragsuit. Once I shave down and put on a LZR, I typically don't need more than 8.

Wow, what a difference a day makes. That felt GREAT. Confidence is back.
I finished off by stealing Zoli's towel to dry off and tiptoed out before he could catch me.

Resistance Cords:
3x6 Reps of following circuit: rotator cuff, butterfly pulldowns, 1-arm tricep extension with palm forward, 1-arm tricep extension with palm backward, bicep pulls w/ palms forward and backward, backstroke finish extensions, horizontal rowing

I did some Compex recovery work on my shoulders, neck and lower back today between workout sessions. The Compex recovery plus resting is really going a long way toward improving my back and making my underwater kick progressively more explosive as I continue to taper.

Despite being awake I was still not completely coherent today. As a result it seems like the day went by very quickly with no remarkable occurrences...except that I keep seeing these two Irish swimmer girls within poking distance everywhere I go.

I decided to swim at the Olympic Village outdoor pool instead of making the trek to the NAC this afternoon. Guess who was there? Yep. How unusual that we all opted not to go to the main pool. Mike Alexandrov was there too along with his Bulgarian teammates. I've just met him this week and he seems like a good guy. I wonder if his teammates talk. I barely hear them say anything. Interesting how that works. This first week is some strange combination of social and language barriers that have to be broken constantly. Thankfully I've grown comfortable enough with my basic Mandarin to have no trouble breaking those barriers with the staff and volunteers who are always eager to talk. Sometimes a simple smile goes a long way too. Although I'm sure that when I'm on NO-Xplode I look like I'm ready to punch anyone who looks at me. Either that or I feel like busting out with some bhangra dance and have a really hard time holding it in. Dammit Avish where are you when I need you?

Afternoon swim:
There was no clock...so I went by heart rate estimates for interval. Tried to stay above HR21 and below HR26 for most of the workout with the exception of a few sprints. This keeps me in an aerobic metabolism without burning out my anaerobic metabolism. (Note: HR numbers are based on 10-second interval).
4x4x4 Warm-up
5x100m (50 free, 50 back) for stroke technique
6x (3x50m. First 50: 1 up, 3 down breastroke w/ dolphin kick; Second 50: 2x2x2 fly; Third 50: Freestyle distance-per-stroke)
8x50m (First and last 15m sprint butterfly, middle 20m easy freestyle)
Goof Off/Cool Down for 30 mins

Off to dinner. You'd never believe who I saw. Makes me want to Riverdance! I suppose it's a good thing theyre around – the Irish are good luck, aren't they? Or do I have to kiss one for that to work? It also makes me want to drop an awkward baby (this one's for you Sahil, Samia, Waseem and Zain) because we keep running into each other without introducing ourselves. It's kind of fun actually. At least when I hang out with the Hungarians Zoli and Tamas are there to introduce me to the new faces I've not yet met. Two of the Indian shooters were there as well. These guys are good. Real good.

I wasn't very hungry, so my dinner was basically a giant bowl of muesli cereal, a banana, and a few slices of lamb roast. I think my body still wants breakfast since it thinks the time is really 5 am instead of 8 pm. Maybe I should whip up my usual breakfast – a BSN Syntha-6 protein shake and a Clif bar. Or maybe I shouldn't so that I can acclimate. Does anyone else think it's funny I'm doing all this preparation for a 50-something second race? I guess this is just what it takes to get it right.

And here I am now posting this online. I suppose I'm still too tired to have anything meaningful to say for today. Things are still fairly quiet here. Waiting to see my teammates when they arrive. I'm half-tempted to venture into greater Beijing on my own, but I'll refrain until my race is over and I have a few friends who can join me.

哎呀！ 我陡然热中饺子， 北京鸭！ 应该到餐馆去吃饭！

P.S. - Reb says hi.

北京欢迎您！ 北京欢迎您！ 北京欢迎您！ 北京欢迎您！

Getting to the Olympic Village was an interesting trip. I was pretty braindead the day I had to leave, and really couldn't focus on packing. Avish picked me up around 11 and we went to LAX. Not really paying attention to anything (as per usual) we went to the Bradley International Terminal and got in line for China Airlines. Avish was holding a spot in the baggage check line while I was in the queue for ticketing and check in. A solid 20 minutes later I was at the front only to be informed that I was in the WRONG LINE. Apparently I had to go the Air China terminal located at #2, not at Bradley. China Airlines isn't the same as Air China...yikes. The difference (which my IR friends will understand) is that China Airlines flies to Taiwan ROC whereas Air China flies to China PRC. It makes me want to start an airline called India Airways to compete with Air India and fly only to Kashmir.

Dorky IR jokes aside, the plane ride was fairly uneventful. I met a real good guy from Hong Kong whose family was meeting him in Beijing to experience the Games. Frankly it felt like an Air India flight just with different food and movies. Note to both Air India and Air China: update your planes. Thankfully Air China's already on it having ordered a full fleet of brand-spankin-new DreamLiner Jets to be put into operation soon.

Twelve hours and no sleep later I was at Beijing Capital Airport (北京首都机场). If someone doesn't come out with an effective travel pillow soon I'm going to patent my own. Those U-shaped ones really don't work. Upon arriving to the airport I was utterly flabbergasted. The contrast between LAX and PKG is unreal. The Beijing Capital Airport was SO modern, and still smelled new too. And the air seemed quite comfortable...until I got outside. Then the humidity engulfed my every pore. I felt like I was being smothered by a warm, damp blanket. There was no avoiding perspiration. Even the windows on all the parked cars were saturated with water. Visibility was 500 meters ahead maximum. Driving towards the Olympic Village I didn't see anything but the greenery surrounding the highway (which was probably transplanted only for these Games) and maybe a few buildings.

Arriving to the village I was greeted by a whole throng of volunteers all sporting different colors depending on their responsibilities. They all seemed SO happy! They were probably all there prepared for the huge number of athletes that would arrive that day to the Village. Seeing as how it was 5 a.m. and I was alone I felt like somewhat of a celebrity with the amount of people who were just standing there waiting to help me with anything I needed. I wasn't allowed to carry my own suitcase. Trust me I tried. Not only did they put my ROLLER suitcase on a cart for me, they had one volunteer roll that cart to the bus.

I boarded the bus to my building in the village. Again alone. I honestly could've walked faster than that bus was traveling, but oh well, the guy seemed happy to help. He dropped me off to what seemed like the appropriate section, but apparently it wasn't. There was a crowd of rowers waiting to board the bus and the driver freaked. He ran to the next station to see if that's where I was supposed to be dropped, ran back, and started grabbing my suitcase to put it in the bus and take me, all the while eyeing the rowers to see if they were getting irritated with the delay. His stress made him look like he was going to have a heart attack. Thankfully my broken Mandarin helped me out here. I grabbed my suitcase and said “我可以走路， 没问题。" (Rough translation: I can walk from here, no problem.) Although he was a bit confused at my decision to walk, he eventually let me go seeing as how he had others to take care of on his bus route. Thankfully I saw Mr. Narayan, our Chef de Mission. He brought me up to my room. I'd probably have snaked around the village for another half hour in the fog/smog hoping to see an Indian flag if he didn't find me.

I set down my things, took a much-needed shower, brushed my teeth and headed for the dining hall. (Note to Galen Center management: MAKE YOUR FOOD LIKE THEY DO AT THE OLYMPICS! STOP BUTTERING AND GREASING EVERYTHING! IT'S NOT THAT HARD! Maybe we'd EAT there more often if you'd do it properly.) More to come on the Dining Hall later. For now, suffice it to say that everything there is quite good. Kicker and Peter I'm sorry you had such a crappy experience here, but it looks like they cleaned up their act since WUGs. Oh right, and the Halal food section tastes the best and is prepared with lots of care. No surprise there.

Again, volunteers galore to help people out. There was one volunteer who offered to walk me under her umbrella to the bus. While walking she asked me, “Is this your first time going to the National Aquatic Center?” I responded with a “对， 就是我的第一次。" She was a little taken aback and laughed, but told me my tonal pronunciation was really good. That's really good news. So we talked the rest of the way in Mandarin. Apparently she's a student at Beihai University. Nifty. You know what else was nifty? Her fanny pack. I'm so glad they're still in style somewhere in the world. I swear 1 in 5 volunteers is sporting one here. They're so convenient, even if I'd never be caught dead in one. Speaking of Bejing universities, my USC friend Katherine Chu invited me to watch an outlawed film this summer in her class about one. It's called “Summer Palace.” (Yihe Yuan) It's one worth watching. Much of the message in that film covers the internal drama that so many college students experience.

Oh hey Tamas. I got on the bus to the National Aquatic Center and was happy to see Tamas make his way over to the bus as well. It's always good to find friends and teammates to talk to when I'm delirious. We talked about the usual things, poked the bubbles that make up the outside of the NAC, and then swam. The water in the NAC pool is CRYSTAL CLEAR. I mean, it's SO clear that when I dive in I feel uneasy in the pit of my stomach because I feel like I'm suspended in midair rather than floating in water. I wish I had an underwater camera to show everyone this – you can see perfectly from one end to the other and the lights from the ceiling glisten on the fresh, polished tiles at the bottom of the pool.

For some reason the NAC competition pool really reminds me of some sort of hybrid between the Asian Games pool in Doha and the Indianapolis IUPUI pool. One thing's for sure, it's very different from the setup in both Melbourne Rod Laver Arena '07 or Omaha's Qwest Center for US Trials '08 probably because it is a permanent pool rather than a temporary one. There are 16,000 available seats at the National Aquatic Center; that's far too few for a sport that's growing in popularity so rapidly. To put things in perspective, there were about 13,000+ people at the Qwest Center for finals every night at the US Trials alone. It was a breeze getting tickets for US Trials despite the huge turnout and is damn near impossible to find two tickets for my mom and sister to see me swim in Beijing.

Today's workout:
4x3x2 Warm-up
1203829x50m slow swimming and drills trying to wake my body up
3x50m on 2:00 sprint at 100 pace
400m Cool down

Tension cords dryland routine. 3X8 pulls for lats, biceps, triceps, chest.
Core work – Suitcase crunch, fupas (Hey Kipp what's a fupa?), and Russian twists.

I felt like googly noodles in the water, unable to really swim properly or grab any water. I cut myself some slack and just got out since it was my first day in the pool after traveling. Part of me was really worried that I was getting “soft” and wasn't in shape to race at the Games. The other part said to just relax, I've put in a solid year of training already.

Came back, got myself some dinner, walked back to my apartment through the violent rainstorm that happened at night, dried off...wait...WHY is my towel turning brown? I ran it across my skin once more...yep, it turned brown. So it could be one of two things: either the rain was so hard it was washing off my skin pigment or the air outside was really dirty. I'm gonna have to go with the second one. So instead of jumping straight into bed, I took a good shower first, lest I brown my bedsheets too. Goodnight y'all.