Olympic Games- 1st week

We had considered upgrading our flight to first class on the way here because we really needed leg room but, we didn't get our itineraries until the week before we left so we were i n a scramble to get it done. A very fun woman named Laura, donated her miles so we could upgrade and have an awesome flight!

Here's a link to her site so you can get to know her a bit: Von Hottie

Our flight from Phoenix to Washington D.C. was smooth. I was on standby for first class but got in and Joe was upgraded to Economy plus. We got to Washington and had a 3 hour delay because of the weather somewhere else. No problem though because we got to go into...the United Club! This is a fancy secret club all the rich people go in. Joe and I ate lunch and I told him, "Eat faster! I want to be in there as long as possible. This will never happen again!" Haha so we did. It was nice and quite. They had some light snacks and free drinks, t.v., and comfortable chairs. So we were pretty Ok. Then we finally got to fly and we were so pumped!!!! A. because we're going to the OLYMPICS and B. because we were in fancy class! We got food, drinks, endless water, and movies! We got to recline our seats until they were beds. It made all the difference in the world!

We chose to come out early so I could acclimate and get rid of all of the distractions I had at home. Flying first class was the best thing that could have happened. It made acclimating here so easy. After 3 days, I was good to go!

Our first day here was busy processing and getting our accreditation.
Processing was both fun and slightly frustrating. We got our head shots taken, got free gear, clothes, a watch, an Olympic ring, a couple of pairs of sunglasses, bags, a ginormous towel, and some other stuff. I love getting free things. When ever I get comments about how I have stains or holes in my clothing my response is usually, "I don't buy things." Haha half because I can't afford it and half because I hope to update my athletic wardrobe when I make a new team. (sometimes I get new stuff, and sometimes I don't)

It was slightly frustrating because I went in thinking that there wasn't going to be anything that fit properly. Surprisingly though, they had some Nike and some Ralph Lauren clothes up to their version of 4Xs. I spent a really long time trying clothes on and exchanging stuff. I was tired from the travel and hungry and I was cranky having to exhange so much clothes but, I ended up coming back with a lot of gear. I have a good mix of men's and women's clothes. The staff was super friendly. RL gave us a ton of Tshirt dresses. Not sure what to do with those, but, I'll make it work lol They gave us so much stuff, I have to send a box home. I'm sure glad, my mom and I both brought extra suit cases!

The next day was a light training day to get shake off the cob webs Within a weeks time, I'm pretty back to normal.

Yesterday was our off day, so we went to Tower Castle to take a tour and explore. We then ate lunch and headed back. The whole city is geared up for the games. There are Olympic Posters, window decals, driving lanes, etc all for us! So lovely. Tower castle was awesome. To walk in a place where so much history has happened was so flippin' cool. It was nice to see my coach get excited about something outside of athleticssn

Today was a heavy training day. I snatched up to 110 and clean and jerked 140. Today was particularly fun because of watching other athletes train in the facility I was at. We trained next to the Swedish handball team. Their plyo workout was nuts! I loved it. The Italian women's volleyball team came in. Their work out was dramatically different having their coaches loading their weights, picking the weights up for them, etc. Almost diva like. Maybe I need a little more of that? Loading your own weights is for chumps.

I am enjoying being surrounded by so many elite level, like minded people. Meeting new friends, seeing old ones, seeing my family, and celebrating all that is good in life is really a fun experience.