Olympic Day 6/7

Alright, I missed a day. But honestly, really there just wasn't anything that happened yesterday! We went to practice, we swam through our routines a few times (more than we had originally thought...) and we went back to the hotel! Part way through, I did take a nap on the pool deck. You'd be surprised where you can sleep when you're tired! Lucky me, I have the gift of being able to sleep anywhere. It's amazing on long flights haha I've also been told that not only do I snore (which I already knew lol EMBRACE IT!) apparently I talk in my sleep as well. As if I'm answering questions...it's amazing the things you learn when you room with your teammates!

A quote on the wall at the Irish National Aquatic Center

 

I just want to mention how awesome the Irish people have been here. We've been called "their team" and it's truly an honor to be considered as such! Ireland doesn't have a Synchronized Swimming team that has reached international levels just yet, so since we trained here before the Olympic Qualifiers back in April, we became the next best thing!

Mariya and Cate before practice in Ireland!

We had practice again this morning, but it was slightly shorter as we had an exhibition at 3pm! We headed back to the Crowne Plaza hotel where we're staying while in Dublin and got to work getting ready. That's where all that lovely knox comes in. Look for future posts when we get back to the games, I'll let everyone know what REALLY goes into a morning of getting ready for competition haha! 

The stand were packed, and they were even apologizing for the crowd not being as big as it was last time! I was still amazed at the amount of people that were there cheering for us! We performed our Free routine; some of the younger Irish synchro girls performed a team routine, as well as a team routine; and before we swam our Tech routine as the finale, Cate was kind enough to perform some of our elements and the progression of how athletes start at a lower difficulty and slowly work their way up to what Mariya and I are going to be competing in the Olympic Games with! It was really informative, and it's funny to me how the simplest of things can be SO cool to people who don't know synchro! I guess I'd be surprised too if I saw someone come shooting up out of the water, foot first out to their ribs and spun down without a problem, and reminded myself that they didn't use the bottom! It's crazy. We had two really good swims, but definitely not hitting our peak yet. That's reserved for the Games themselves, so that we can perform AMAZINGLY!!!

Our locker room - a true inside look into Ireland

I feel like our stuff is everywhere. You definitely can't say I'm the most organized person in the world! People wanted inside looks, here ya go. :P I can't wait until I'm back in London, but I have to say that I'm representing the USA, and even a little bit of Ireland when we compete. We even have shirts to prove it!

Mariya and I modeling our Irish gear!

 

They were sweet enough to give all of us (including our coach, manager and trainer) these awesome t-shirts. Dublin, Ireland 2012! Gotta love it.

Alright everyone, well I'm off! I've been getting a lot of comments on how people really enjoy my blog and I'm glad it's getting out to so many people! I'm keeping everyone updated, but I'm also creating a keepsake for myself. These games have been amazing so far and I haven't even competed yet! Can't wait to make it back to the Village, but I wish I could bring some Luck of the Irish with me!

--Mary