August 1--San Diego
I'm almost packed tonight and certain that I will be sitting on the plane before I realize that I forgot something important. Isn't that the way it always is when you're getting ready for a long trip? I'm very excited about the trip and the adventures that await. I'm a little anxious, but that's pretty normal, too. If all goes according to plan, I should be in the Frankfurt airport in 24 hour waiting for the US Olympic Team charter flight to Athens.
Tonight Liz took me out to dinner at the local 'Olympic Cafe' for some Greek cuisine. It seemed appropriate to end my training in San Diego with a bit of Greek flavor. Yeah, in a couple weeks I'll be wishing I had eaten a nice Mexican meal of taquitos with guacamole and chips, but the souvlaki platter got me in the mood.
My flight out in the morning is at 6:30am, connecting through Chicago on my way to the charter flight in Frankfurt. I'll be checking into Athens around 1pm local time and then the process begins. First I'll get my official Olympic accreditation badge with my photo ID and a barcode that tells the security at each and every checkpoint who I am, where I'm from and whether I am an athlete, coach, delegation member, medical staff, or some other member of the Olympic family. For the next four weeks, my accreditation badge will be my pass into the Olympic Village, into and out of the athletic venues, into the cafeteria, housing, Games transportation, everything. Without it, I'm up a creek. With it, I have access to all sorts of interesting places.
After accreditation, I will pick up my bags and go through Greek customs. My bags will then get taken to the Olympic Village, I'll board a bus with my US teammates and we'll all be on our way. The track and field coaches have said they are going to get us a tour of the racewalk course on Tuesday evening of Wednesday morning. It will be nice to take a look at the 2km circuit that I'll be walking. Mentally it helps to have a picture of what the course looks like, where the turns are, the hills (rumor has it there are some nasty hills on the course), and whether there is shade or not. On the afternoon of the 4th, all of the track and field team members and coaches will get on another charter flight for Crete. There, we check into the Pilot Beach Resort. Five big big big star resort. From the website, it looks incredible. It's a shame that we have to do all that training rather than sitting poolside or dipping our toes in the Mediterranean. It's rough getting ready for an Olympic 50km. :)
Well, time to rest up for the big trip in the morning. Wish me luck!
Sunday, August 1, 2004
Sunday, July 25, 2004
Yosemite Training
July 25--Yosemite National Park
Wow! It's hard to imagine a more beautiful place to get in a good workout. Sean Albert and I joined a few others from the Olympic Training Center for a long day of hiking that was capped by a breathtaking (literally) ascent of the cables on the side of Half Dome. If you have never been to Yosemite, go. Even if you never get out of your car, it will be well worth the trip. But you really should get out, see the falls, wander through the meadows in Yosemite valley or, better yet, the large glacier-swept Tuolamie Meadow to the north. It's no wonder that John Muir loved this place. The size and scale of the valley and the surrounding mountains is hard to believe.
Sean and I made the most of our trip by driving up on Saturday morning and staying in the luxurious Curry Village tent city. It had everything you could hope for when camping in the great outdoors: soft beds, downy pillows, warm blankets, hot showers, and neighbors who stayed up drinking late into the night, talking and banging pots and pans in your ear. Or perhaps it was the crying child who kept falling out of bed. 'Thump.... whaaaaa! whaaaa!' And then again an hour later, after the considerate parents had carried her screaming through all of the campsites to make sure we were all awake: 'Thump....whaaaaa! whaaaaa!'
Even with little sleep, we were energized for the 5:30am start by the splendor of the granite monoliths and towering ponderosa pines. Last year Sean and I made this same hike with 15-20 track and field athletes from the training center including Curt Clausen. The three of us quickly separated ourselves from the pack and made it to the top before anyone else that day. After some photos out on the 'diving board' we hustled back down before the hordes arrived. The cables are never fun because of the exposure, but with lots of other people on them ahead of you, they become pretty dicey. This year it took us a few hours longer: more time for photos and snack breaks.
Wow! It's hard to imagine a more beautiful place to get in a good workout. Sean Albert and I joined a few others from the Olympic Training Center for a long day of hiking that was capped by a breathtaking (literally) ascent of the cables on the side of Half Dome. If you have never been to Yosemite, go. Even if you never get out of your car, it will be well worth the trip. But you really should get out, see the falls, wander through the meadows in Yosemite valley or, better yet, the large glacier-swept Tuolamie Meadow to the north. It's no wonder that John Muir loved this place. The size and scale of the valley and the surrounding mountains is hard to believe.
Sean and I made the most of our trip by driving up on Saturday morning and staying in the luxurious Curry Village tent city. It had everything you could hope for when camping in the great outdoors: soft beds, downy pillows, warm blankets, hot showers, and neighbors who stayed up drinking late into the night, talking and banging pots and pans in your ear. Or perhaps it was the crying child who kept falling out of bed. 'Thump.... whaaaaa! whaaaa!' And then again an hour later, after the considerate parents had carried her screaming through all of the campsites to make sure we were all awake: 'Thump....whaaaaa! whaaaaa!'
Even with little sleep, we were energized for the 5:30am start by the splendor of the granite monoliths and towering ponderosa pines. Last year Sean and I made this same hike with 15-20 track and field athletes from the training center including Curt Clausen. The three of us quickly separated ourselves from the pack and made it to the top before anyone else that day. After some photos out on the 'diving board' we hustled back down before the hordes arrived. The cables are never fun because of the exposure, but with lots of other people on them ahead of you, they become pretty dicey. This year it took us a few hours longer: more time for photos and snack breaks.
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