Beach day and Okinawa shopping

Yesterday's day at the beach was a gorgeous trip. The weather couldn't have been better as we had lots of sun and a cool breeze.




And as you can see from the picture, I enjoyed relaxing by the South China Sea. The beach day ended with a meet and greet to honor the military veterans on the Swim (our amazing Melissa Stockwell!) and Track and Field Teams.


Today, we had the afternoon to go off base. So Coach Peggy, Casey and I checked out the local Okinawa shopping. Between navigating the streets in a taxi, finding a Japanese 100 Yen store (like a U.S. dollar store), trying on Japanese accessories at a major department store, and being stared at by the island residents, it was a great afternoon adventure!


Tonight is team skit night where the teams are divided between rookies and veterans of the Games - I'm sure it will be something to see!

Despite what this post suggests, we are training very hard here! Most of the team has begun to taper so we are all full of energy in our last few days in Japan.

Paralympics online and on TV!

We have received the official announcement from U.S. Paralympics regarding media broadcasts of the Games. You can follow the Paralympic Games a few different ways...

• Daily video highlights will be online at the official Paralympic website, www.usparalympics.org
  
• Live broadcast will begin on September 6th (Opening Ceremonies) online at www.universalsports.com
• On October 8th, a delayed broadcast will be shown on Universal Sports TV
• NBC will show a special presentation of the Games on October 18th

My events are on day 7 and 9 of the swimming program (September 13 and 15th). And due to International Olympic and Paralympic rules, I am not allowed to post any information about other team members or any photos with official activities appearing in the background since I am not an accredited journalist for the Games. So for any information on Team USA please visit the links above or on the right side on my blog.

Island Photos

Here are a few snapshots of the Japanese island I have been living on for the past few days. The first is of sunset the night we flew in to Kadena.

The second is a local street we drive through on the way to the pool and the third is a far off shot of the Pacific Ocean over the Okinawa skyline.

And finally, a picture of our training pool.

As you can see in the picture, the weather has been mostly sunny with clear skies; although the heat and humidity are significantly more severe than I'm used to in Boston!

To give back to Kadena and Foster military bases, we hosted a practice with the local age group swim club a few nights ago. Together, we played sprint bingo in the pool before eating ice cream and signing autographs for all the club swimmers. The kids were all very excited to swim with us and we all had a blast meeting them.

After I sign off, we are going to Tori Beach for a barbeque and possibly some snorkeling!

Konnichiwa!

Greetings from Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan! We are finally getting over our jet lag from the long flight here. Our plane flew in over the beautiful island right before sunset and we were immediately greeted with a welcoming reception from the military at Kadena Air Force Base. Each athlete from the Paralympic Swim Team and the Track and Field Team was paired with a military "sponsor" who took us to our room (with our luggage) and who assured us that they would get us whatever we needed during our stay.

The military staff has been incredibly friendly on base and the accommodations (and food!) are really great as we prepare for the Games. To swim, we are driven to the nearby Marine Core Base, Foster, which houses a great outdoor 50 meter pool. On the way to Foster, we get to see a bit of the local Okinawa culture. The Japanese writings are everywhere along the street, but there is some English scattered here and there (like at a Starbucks!) since there is supposedly a lot of tourists who visit this part of the island.

We have not been able to venture off the base yet, so our days consist of training, eating, and hanging out with teammates. But this weekend we will probably take a team trip to see more of Japan...and hopefully eat some genuine sushi!


I promise pictures on the next post...

Sayonara!

Olympic Training Center excitement

Our 3 days at the Olympic Training Center (OTC) are almost finished. Day 1 began with a 6am flight to Colorado Springs with a layover in Chicago where I met up with most of the other athletes and coaches flying from the east coast. Once we arrived, our first point of business was team outfitting which was essentially circling a huge room with a shopping cart and filling it with Nike and Ralph Lauren clothes! After trying on all our great new outfits, we had our first team practice (at altitude!) before we all got some much needed sleep. Our 2nd day at the OTC began with a morning swim which was followed by briefings on media training, logistics for the Games, and the magnitude of the Olympic Movement. The rest of the day consisted of autograph signing, head-shots, another workout, and, of course, following the Olympic competitions. Today, we had a bit more time, since our only non-practice commitments were a team photo and a lunch meet-and-great with U.S. Olympic Committee staffers. So, one of my roommates, Casey, and I spent the afternoon enjoying the Colorado sun by laying out by the outdoor pool and watching a visiting synchronized swimming team practice. It is always thrilling to train at the OTC as I think of all the incredible athletes who have lived and trained at these facilities. Since the Olympics are going on now, there have clearly been no Olympian-sightings, but in addition to the Paralympic Swim Team, the Paralympic Women's Sitting Volleyball and the Track and Field Team have arrived to begin their Games trip. I will miss the OTC!

Tomorrow, we have 5am swim practice before taking a 13 hour flight to Japan. So excited to get to Asia!

Photos from Beijing

Just in case you haven't seen them on tv, here are photos of some of the Olympic/Paralympic venues. The "Bird's Nest" is where Opening Ceremonies and track and field will be held.

And the "Cube" is where we will race (and where Michael Phelps just won 8 golds!).

The Countdown...

2 days until my adventures at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games begin! 5 days until I fly with the Swim Team to Japan for a training trip. 15 days until I am in Beijing and 19 days until the Paralympic Opening Ceremonies!

I won't be able to use my cell phone once I leave the country but I will have internet access (and a new digital camera) so I hope to add posts and photos so you can follow along on my trip (since I unfortunately can't stow all of you in my luggage). In a word of warning, this is my first time keeping up a blog, but I will try to update as often as I can while I am in Colorado, Japan, and Beijing. The links to the right are the official Paralympic websites so please visit them often for the latest news on the Paralympic Games.

I also wanted to give a little background on my swimming for those of you who may not know. My competitive swimming career started about 6 years ago when I swam for the Columbian High School swim team in Tiffin, Ohio with Coach Peggy Ewald. The following year, I moved to the east coast and began college at Harvard where I trained with the Harvard Women's Swimming and Diving (HWSD) Team. After 4 years on HWSD, I left with 6 American records set at Blodgett Pool; the most recent being about 1 month ago when I beat my own 50 free record by over 2 seconds. The incredible team and coaches have given me ideal training and preparation for a great meet in Beijing! On the National Paralympic Team I have been able to travel all over the world from Belgium to Brazil to compete for the U.S. Last summer, I was co-captain of the 2007 Para PanAmerican team that competed in Rio de Janeiro and was able to take home 1 bronze, 2 silver, and 1 gold medal. At Trials in April, I qualified for the team in the 50 freestyle and 50 backstroke. Since then I have continued to train at Harvard to prepare for the Games.

Watching the amazing Olympic swimmers shatter record after record in "The Cube" has been incredibly exciting -- especially knowing that I'll be there soon! I hope you enjoy the blog as there will surely be more posts to come!