Back From China

I’m now in California for USA Nationals.  Thanks to everyone for the support and well wishes in Shanghai.  I’m sorry that I couldn’t write updates…my site and facebook were blocked sites in China.

Overall, I was really happy with my swims.  Leading into the meet I was curious because none of my in-season times were close to what I wanted to be at Worlds.  Fortunately, all the work paid off and I swam non-body suit best times.  I was really hoping to get an individual medal but I can’t complain with the progress I’ve made this season.  I also wished I could have been faster in the finals of the 1500.  I’m excited to see how fast I can go next year at Trials.  The pool was incredible though, and the Chinese did a great job of making the meet exciting.

Shanghai was an interesting experience.  As soon as I got off the plane, it was like deja vu from Beijing all over again.  The two cities are very different, but China is China.  The air is not very good, and the language and cultural barriers are significant.  The people are very nice though, and eager to help.  I found them to be very trustworthy, as they could easily take advantage of foreigners who don’t speak Chinese, like myself.  I didn’t get to see much of the city but the view from the hotel was amazing.

  I also went to the top of the Financial Tower and the view almost does justice in showing the size of the city.

I also had a chance to go to the markets to buy some knock-off junk.  If you ever go to China, this is a must-do activity.  To be fair, some of the stuff is good quality, but most of it isn’t.  The fun is haggling for it.  This was very popular on our team.

It’s nice to be back in the States though and I’m excited about swimming some other events this week.

Update from the Gold Coast

Today is our last day on the Gold Coast before heading to Shanghai.  It’s been pretty nice and I’ve definitely enjoyed my time here.  The beach is one of the nicest I’ve ever been to, and it is easy to know why they call it Surfer’s Paradise.  Yesterday a few of us went bodysurfing and it was perfect.  The waves were long, rolling, and about 4-5 feet on average.

Some of the highlights from the training camp have been the food at our hotel, a few heated games of mini golf (Conor Dwyer= 2-time champion), and last nights karaoke.  Yes, that’s right, rookie’s performing karaoke.  Elliot Keefer thrilled the crowd with an impassioned cover of a tune from Nickelback, one of the world’s worst bands.

I’m not excited for the travel but I’m definitely excited to get to Shanghai.  I’m hoping that I’ll be able to update from China, but with some of the restrictions on websites, I have no idea.  Only 5 more days until race day!

Dodging Bullets En Route to Down Under

Made it to Australia.  What a long travel that is from the East Coast.  I’m just thankful to have arrived here safely with my luggage.  My flight in Atlanta was delayed 4 hours so it was a good thing I had my running shoes on because I needed them in San Francisco.  I had to switch terminals, re-check my baggage, and clear security in about 15 minutes.  I made the flight with just a few minutes to spare…It also boggles my mind that some airline company hasn’t re-invented the quality of trans-oceanic travel regardless of ticket class.  I think that’s something that everyone could get behind.  At least I wasn’t the passenger who had 4 glasses of champagne spilled on her, two minutes into the flight.

The key to surviving a 14 hour flight is not to be excited about getting to your destination.  Also, it helps if you can sleep for 10 hours of it.  Overall, I was much better prepared for the journey this time, because I don’t feel nearly as tired as the last time I traveled here.  In 2007, I almost fell asleep in my dinner the first night.  Tonight, I’m motoring through just fine.  The Gold Coast is a beautiful place…The people here are wonderful too.  It felt great to get in the pool this afternoon and loosen up.  Even though its winter here, its pretty comfortable and a welcome change from the sauna that is Gainesville this time of year.

It is great to be here and I’m happy to catch up with everyone on the team!

View from my hotel room