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While I’m looking back at my experiences at the Olympics, I’m going to keep it somewhat chronological – just to give it a little order. But if something comes to mind, I’m just going to go with it.

If I go back to the week before the Olympics started, I would have just been moving into the Athlete’s Village. I moved into my room on Friday the 5th (along with everyone else on the long track team who was going to stay at the village), where our suitcase full of plaid, lumberjack, “Canadian” apparel was waiting. That wasn’t a crack at our gear, either. That`s just the reality of it!

To be honest, I probably heard more jokes about our gear from Canadians than from anyone else. Not so much that they didn’t like it, rather that it was “soooo Canadian.” If we wanted to show the world who we were (at least a part of us...), we sure did a good job with it! I’ll admit I had a laugh when I first pulled out the cotton, red and black plaid long sleeve, but ended up wearing it a few times. In general, people started liking our stuff more and more as the Games went on. One of my favourite pieces of clothing, actually, was the downed vest. The vest, which included a bit of the plaid pattern across the shoulders, was pretty comfortable. I wore that thing almost every day!

My whole plan for staying in the village was to stay there until 3 nights before my races, then stay in my condo in Richmond until the night of my race. That way, I was going to be able to take in some of the excitement and atmosphere of the Olympics while making sure I was getting everything I needed to prepare for my races (a good sleep, some quiet, a 2min bike ride to the oval, etc). I think it worked out quite well, too. I packed everything I needed to stay in the village in 1 suitcase and had everything else back at my condo. When it came to “moving,” it was quick and easy.

One modification I remember making to my room at the village was taking 3 extra bed sheets and putting them up as curtains to darken the room at night. The blinds that were there were alright; but, with the lights in the village, the blinds being a little see through and not even covering the entire window surface, I had to do something about it. And, for the most part, the bed sheets worked quite well. They even seemed to make the room a little quieter. I’m not sure if I just thought that because the room was darker, but either way, it helped.

That was all to say that I had things set up the way I wanted both at the village and at my condo. It was nice to be able to go back and forth – cook for myself at home, or go to the dining hall in the village; hang out in the athlete’s lounge with everyone else, or just relax on my couch watching tv; be downtown in the Games atmosphere, or have a 2min bike ride to the oval...I think you get the point. Whatever I felt I needed for motivation/preparation/relaxation, I had. That was the most important thing.

I’m not done going through the week leading up to the opening ceremonies, but I’m going to stop there for the night. If you haven’t read any of my updates throughout the Games, you can go back a few entries to “Athletes welcome and the bike shop,” and there’s a bit more of what I did that week you can read. The next one should be up in the next day or two!