Beijing!

I'm finally in the Paralympic Village! The rooms are huge, the landscaping is gorgeous and the venues are awe-inspiring. Really, I can not say enough about the experience of being here - seeing it on t.v. paled in comparison to experiencing it. Unfortunately, there are strict rules on the pictures we can post, so I won't be able to post pictures of the venues or village until 3 days after Closing Ceremonies.

In wheeling around the village, I have met quite a few U.S. athletes from other sports (Wheelchair basketball, Quad rugby, Tennis, etc); not to mention all the international athletes...including some of my competition. We have pool time in the competition pool of the Water Cube tonight and I can't wait!

For all you swimmers out there, my taper has begun. I don't swim until the 7th and 9th day of competition, so many of my teammates are fully tapered and ready to race on Sunday whereas I have to wait another week. The US Olympic Committee staff has gotten each of us a Razor, Blueseventy, and an FSII. Back in Japan, I swam in the Blueseventy for the first time and I have never felt faster. In practice, I dropped 2.5 seconds off my best 50 free. So, basically, I am just ecstatic to race my competition and see what happens!

Opening Ceremomies are just 2 days away!