While waking up this morning wasn’t as easy as it usually is, I didn’t feel as bad as I thought I would after such a big day. We ate breakfast in the Village and then made our way to the course, which took a lot less time than we had expected. Eton Dorney Lake really is incredible. The venue is beautiful; there are Olympic rings, signs and mascots everywhere. The boathouse is the nicest boathouse I’ve ever rowed out of that’s for sure. We decided to stay at the course in between rows because of the distance back to the Olympic Rowing Village, so we ate lunch there and rested in the Athlete Lounge. While I really like the energy around a big regatta with all the other foreign athletes around, it was very peaceful to be one of the only teams there. We had the run of the place, so we made ourselves comfortable. The two things I took away from the course were that it’s chilly out there and that there will be wind, most likely a crosswind. Nothing we haven’t seen before, but it’s good to accept it and learn to ignore it. So far, there’s really nothing to complain about. It feels like we have a ton of time before racing, but I know it will go by quickly! I’m off to bed now, but look for more updates soon! I’m so grateful and excited to be here, Team USA wouldn’t be here without your support of the NRF, thank you!

Our coach gave us a sleep in this morning and we didn’t head down to the course until 9 a.m. for our first morning row. The bus ride to and from the course went quicker than I expected. It took us about forty minutes door to door. When we arrived at Eton Dorney Lake, we finished rigging our boat and went out for a short row. It was cold, windy, and rainy (who would have thought in England?) but it was nice getting over the stiffness from the long traveling day before.

Since we don’t want to travel to the course more than once per day, (three hours on a bus a day would be a little too much) we ate lunch at the course. After a quick bite to eat and a little relaxation in the athlete’s lounge, we were back on the water for a second practice. The weather was more of the same, but both practices went well and it feels good to be back in a somewhat normal routine.

Back at the satellite village we got some physical therapy, dinner, and just relaxed a little. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to go to bed at a reasonable hour tonight and not have to worry about jet lag. Things are pretty low key around here, not many athletes have moved in yet, and there aren’t too many good stories to tell. Sometimes that’s a good thing though, it’s great to avoid any distraction and stay focused for our upcoming races!

-Nick

http://usalightweightrowing.ning.com/profiles/blog/list

Susan & I modeling closing and opening ceremony kit!

We hopped on a red-eye at Newark last night, and before I got a great (if short) sleep, I met Saida, a huge fan of the Olympics and, hopefully, a future rower (I'm always recruiting!) Talking with her reminded me how huge our support is here in the USA, and it was neat to share my goals and journey with her just as I am starting this final step for all of our training with my team.

As soon as we landed, oodles of friendly and helpful London 2012 volunteers shuttled us to our accreditation, where we got the passes "our lives depend on". Then it was off to grab our luggage and head to the Rowing Olympic Village, one of the satellite Olympic Villages near to Dorney Lake. We'll be staying here through the end of racing, and it's a beautiful place to be living with Team USA and focusing on our job at hand: getting ready to have the best races of our lives!

Just minutes later, it was time to head into the city and get "processed". Even after hearing stories from the women in Athens and Beijing about this crazy building where awesome sponsors bedeck you with bags and boxes of gear and goodies, I was totally unprepared for how almost overwhelmingly amazing it was! We started at Ralph Lauren, where we were fitted for our Opening and Closing Ceremony kit. The video crew asked me to say a few words about the gear, and it was really neat to have the opportunity to say how elegant and athletic our whole team looked in the outfits.

Then we went through the other stations--our headshots, ring fittings (Hamilton Jewelers gives every Olympian a beautiful watch and ring!), Proctor & Gamble Welcome Kit pick-up (everything I could have possibly needed to pack--thank you!), and Oakley (so excited to race in my Olympic-Edition Miss Conducts!)

And then--the huge dressing room and what seemed like 8,000 things to try on from Nike and Ralph Lauren, each cooler than the next! Nike designed a whole slew of really sharp outfits, and I couldn't even wait until tomorrow to wear some of it to the dining hall tonight. Our team left looking great and ready to get out on the water and race!

We took a tiny tour of the major London sights on the way home--Westminister Abbey (sadly, no Princess Kate sighting!), the Gherkin building, the London Eye, the Tate, and many more. It will be great to explore the city more after racing--but first, it's time to race! So then home for dinner, posting this blog, and now, bed.

One of the other amazing things about today was a letter that was waiting for me when I got back to my room tonight. At our Olympic Ambassador training several months ago, we were asked to write a letter to ourselves, one that we'd open if we made it to the Olympics. I had completely forgotten about it, and opened the letter to find a huge reminder of the work that we've put in as a team over the last four years and the tons of support that are beaming over here from everyone we know in the USA. It was so moving and it really sunk in--this is it. I'm here. At the Olympics. Ready to have the best races of my life and find an entirely new gear to go to in our racing. I cannot wait! This has been unlike anything I've ever done before, and I've only been in the country for just over 12 hours. Just--amazing. I can't wait for what the next three weeks will bring! Go USA!

-Esther

Harder.Better.Faster.Stronger