Double the Fun With Double the Irony

I exited the airplane last night singing "Oklahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plain..." which was a total riot, as it was windy like the song, and furthermore (this is the double part of the double irony) I was stepping off of a PLANE. Get it?? Plane... plain?

And now, dear reader, for lack of any other interesting updates, and to hold off on any more hilarious puns: a glimpse into the here-and-now of suite #325 at the Marriot Residence Hotel in Oklahoma City! Featuring Susannah Stuccio, Lauren Austin, and yours truly!

Lauren stands by the mirror, furiously ripping a brush through the wind-created snarls in her hair. "The results are in," she says, grimly defeated. "I should have shaved my head before coming to trials."
Susannah, meanwhile, is flopped on her bed in the next room with her cell phone, willing her pictures to send to fragmob-- holding out on a sliver of hope that this time-the 57th- will be the time that they go through.
Emily is laying horizontally on the crisp white sheets, peering repeatedly over her shoulder out the window and cracking her knuckles while she dreams up what to type next. It's not the racing that she hates but the waiting, though she does concede that waiting is better in a deluxe two-bedroom, two-bathroom, fireplace-included suite overlooking the river. (It doesn't really overlook the river. I just made that part up. I also made up the part about Susannah sending 57 pictures to fragmob. She actually only sent 32.)

Apparently the snapshot into our afternoon is only good if embellished.

Airport

I'm in the San Diego airport now, enjoying free wireless and huge windows, awaiting the commuter jet that is taking us to Oklahoma City for Olympic Trials.

I wanted to include the event website: here you can find athlete bios, results, and information about the event.

For those of you who may be curious about what these trials actually decide, I will attempt to explain in as few words as possible.

These are US Olympic Trials, but for most people, the road doesn't end here. The winners of each race at these trials will go on to the Montreal Cup Qualifier in mid-May, which is also Pan-American Championships. The winning boat from each event in Montreal will get to send that boat to the Olympics. So, although these are our domestic trials, they don’t guarantee most people a spot in Beijing. Of course it's a bit more complicated than that; some people have qualified already according to their performance at last year's World Championships. Additionally, for those athletes who are younger and do not qualify for the Olympics, there will be a Pan-Am Team and a U-23 World Cup Team which will go on tour in Europe in June.

The bottom line for me, of course, is to forget all this qualification mumbo-jumbo for the next 5 days and do what I do best: race as fast as I can. No sweat. (Well, okay, maybe a little.)

We Leave for Olympic Trials Tomorrow

“The sea’s only gifts are harsh blows and, occasionally, the chance to feel strong. Now I don’t know much about the sea, but I do know that that’s the way it is here. And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong... to measure yourself at least once.”

-from “Bear Meat,” by Primo Levi

It's Good to Be Prepared

What do you do when you're anticipating a big competition?
As it happens, I bite my nails. And wash my clothes. (Loads of laundry are loads of fun!!) And organize all my things into carefully labeled zip-lock bags, then line up the bags in perfect rows in my big red suitcase. I've been packed and ready to go for 3 days.

What's the most ridiculous thing you packed?
According to my teammates, a headlamp. (How else am I supposed to read at night!?) I have also figured out that I have packed enough drink powders, boost, powergels, and cliff bars to meet my caloric needs through these things alone for the next 5 days.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The Wright’s Tuff

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SNAKE!

There were two rattlesnake sightings at the training center today, and one of them was made by yours truly. I was on the phone with my brother, biking up from the lake to the dining hall, incidentally talking about the first snake sighting from earlier in the day when I looked down and saw a baby rattler right in front of me. You may be pleased to know that I swerved to avoid it and had a lovely venom-free rest of the day.

Rollerskiing

(Apparently the only rollerksiing photo I have is of me in the 4th of july parade when I was 14.)


Among other fun toys that my dad brought me (such as my rock-climbing stuff, camping gear, and mandolin) were my rollerskis! I’ve been itching to take them out for a week- cautiously, of course, as I have to be careful not to get hurt- and I finally did today. Just a short little jaunt: after all, it’s my first day on skis (Or, as I would have told you in high school, it was the first day of off-season training for the winter).

Man, we had some good rollerskiing adventures back in the day. I’m told that some diehards can be found skiing up and down the sidewalks along one of the beaches here. I have to check that out, along with... sand skiing? Is anybody familiar?

So much fun stuff to DO!! I just wish I had some nor-dorks out here to enjoy it with me.

“You’ll have good days and bad days, but on the bad days, you must never think that you’ve failed.”

-Susie Maroney, Australian open- water marathon swimmer