Olympic Games Day 2

Oh man, the last 2 days have been so busy! Where to begin? We left Indy on the 24th and took off for London. On our flight over I got to fly in business class. My surgeon suggested that I upgrade because it would be easier on my back to be able to lie down in more comfortable chairs during the long flight. It was well worth it. I slept the whole flight, got great service and food and even a travel case with toiletries. Why don't we always fly business?? When we got to London we went through the accreditation process, dropped off our bags and headed straight for the competition pool for music time. Now, as much as I didn't want to jump in a pool after traveling for 12 hours, it actually felt good! We kicked out our legs and then got to go through our routines with music. There were only a few other countries there so it wasn't too crowded, which was nice.

Being back in the Aquatic Center felt really good. In April we were here for the Qualification Tournament so we kind of already knew the lay of the land. This time though, there are Olympic Rings everywhere, London 2012 logos, lots of lights and a lot more seating. The bleachers go up so high! I don't even think you could see the swimmers from up there! For some reason there is something very calming about this facility. Even with all the commotion, as soon as I jump in that pool I feel confident and strong and the routines seem to flow a little more. I can't wait to compete here again!

After practice we went to processing, where we got all of our Nike and Ralph Lauren outfitting. I knew we were going to get a lot of clothes but man, we got A LOT of clothes. Two suitcases and two full backpacks. It took us about two hours to try everything on and get our Opening Ceremonies outfits tailored. It was like Christmas! By the time we got done with everything it was past 9 pm and I was tired and hungry. I fell asleep while we were waiting for the bus and apparently there were people taking pictures of me and posing behind me. Cool guys... The rest of the night I was in a half-asleep, slightly hallucinating delirious state and all I wanted was a bed. When we got back to our rooms at the village I passed out immediately. Mary and I are rooming with two pentathletes who moved in today but we haven't seen them yet.

The village is gorgeous. It's very sleek and modern and the dining hall is huge! There is food from all over the world so there are many options. We haven't had any time to explore the rest of the village but I'n sure I will at some point. Mary and I each get our own room which is nice because we both like our space. The view from my room is breathtaking!

Today was another practice day. We went to the practice pool in the village (which has 3 Olympic sized pools, a synchro pool and a water polo pool) and then had another practice in the competition pool. After than I got some physical therapy done and a massage and now I'm just relaxing in my suite. So far London has been great but I feel like I haven't done much other than practice. That's ok though because I will have plenty of time to explore and do other things when we are done competing. Right now it's all abou preparation and recovery so we have to stay focused.

Tomorrow is the Opening Ceremonies! It's crazy that the Games are officially starting tomorrow. I think it's going to be cool to be with the whole U.S. delegation sporting our Ralph Lauren outfits and being one united team.

I will try to write every couple of days but if you want more updates and pictures, check out my Twitter page (https://twitter.com/mkoroleva) or follow me on Instagram (mkoroleva). I've been updating both pretty frequently.

Cheers,
Mariya