Olympic Day 1

Okay. I've told myself I am going to write every night while I'm here at the Games. Day one, let's see how long I can keep this resolution going! haha

First off, Day one feels like it's been FOREVER! Considering it's been like...2 days haha
London is 6 hours ahead of Indy, and it's insane how much jetlag you can get from an 8 hour flight! The day started off with practice on the 24th, said some good byes to the divers we share the IUPUI natatorium with (I'm sure they won't miss the music! haha) and then headed to the airport. At first we actually thought our flight was going to be delayed, by 2 hours. Thank goodness that didn't actually happen! One short flight to Chicago, and we were on our way to London!

Mariya was upgraded to business class (lucky...) but I managed to get a row to myself. So I slept the entire way with my feet up on the wall and curled onto two Economy Plus seats. Not an easy feat I tell you, but well worth it to try and get some shut eye for the way here.

The view of London before we landed!

Doesn't look much different does it? We were on the same flight as woman's wrestling and Holley Mangold, a good friend of mine who is an AMAZING weight lifter with an AMAZING sense of humor. After being greeted by some people who were there to help us get to the village, we picked up our bags and headed to Olympic Park! We were warned it could take up to 4 hours, but luckily for us that didn't happen. Once we got there, we actually had to retake our photos, because we were smiling in the picture that was provided. We weren't the only ones either, so now there's a lot of athletes walking around the olympic village with somber pictures on their Olympic Credentials...I think I have an eyebrow raised in mine. And my head is too high...but who knows. Makes for a good memory right?

My credential, don't lose this!

Our adventure didn't end there, Mariya and I went straight to the pool from there in order to get some music time practice in the competition pool. It's always something you want to do as soon as possible before you compete, so that you get a feel for the pool. Luckily for us we qualified at this pool, so it feels familiar. Egypt didn't show up for their music time, so we were lucky enough to get an extra few minutes. Every minute counts this close to our goal!

After that, processing! This is what US Olympic Athletes like to call "Christmas in July" Literally, it took me 2 and a half hours to get through every thing. There's podium attire to try on, Opening and Closing ceremonies outfitting to be custom fitted, not to mention the two gigantic duffle bags full to the brim with Ralph Lauren and Nike shirts, shorts, pants, jackets, sports bras, sweatshirts, dresses, shoes, and hats that you need to sort through to make sure everything fits! There was also a scarf and a towel included! After all the outfitting, you get to go get your Olympic ring fitted. They're made every olympics, and for London it's made off of the design of their coins. Really pretty, and possibly the only piece of jewelry I'll wear ALL THE TIME!

After all that, lucky for us we finished in time, but the fire alarm went off! No one really knows why, I guess we'll find out tomorrow to see if we get our outfitting. I feel like there would be a lot of very unhappy people if our things were burned up in flames.

Please be a false alarm...

We're finally back at the village now, and it's 11pm. It's only 6 at home, but the jet lag is gonna hit something fierce tomorrow. Wish me luck at the 3 practices that I have! But in the mean time, check out our awesome rooms!

I have the small room haha

We're in a apartment style 3 bedroom, one bath suite with a common living area on the 6th floor of the USA building. The view is amazing, and the beds are comfy. Gotta love it. Until tomorrow!!!

--Mary