Made it!

Ciao, buon giorno! Sorry I don't have any pictures to post yet, but I just landed 3 hours ago. I've been up for quite some time, so I apologize if this isn't as coherent or interesting as you would like! The trip over can be summed up in the best adjective possible for an "across the pond" flight - UNEVENTFUL!

Leave it to Chris to ask me what in the world is my function here! Actually, that's a great question! As a physiologist, my role of testing the athletes is pretty much done at this point. There's no point in testing an athlete for maximal aerobic or anaerobic power now - the ultimate test of that will come on the field of play over the next few weeks. We are prepared to do pulmonary function tests on athletes if they are experiencing breathing problems (the pollution here is pretty bad), but we've tested just about everyone on Team USA for asthma and exercise-induced asthma over the last quad (quadrennium).

As a Dietitian (nutritionist), my role here will be to make sure our athletes have everything they need when they need it. Acutally, not many people in the world does food better than the Italians, who are in charge of providing meals in the athlete villages. In fact, they do it too well - we'll have to make sure our atheltes don't stray too far from their nutriton plans and put on weight before their events! Also, making sure the athletes are eating familiar, "tried and true" foods and beverages is essential right now. More than one athlete in the history of sport has ruined 4 years of hard training with one bad meal the night before, or day of, a competition. A few of the teams travel with their own Dietitians and chefs, so I will just be coordinating their needs.

It's expensive and cumbersome to bring a large delegation to the Games, so those of us that do come are expected to fill many roles. In addition to being a physiologist and Dietitian, I am also a grunt for our Performance Technology Dept (my Division back in the Springs is Sport Sciences and Performance Technology). We have purchased the rights to the "live feed" here at the Games and will be taping events live as they happen. The live feed is simply footage being fed from cameras live at the events. No commercials, no commentary, no nothing but live action. As in Athens, I may have to actually go to events (as opposed to sitting in our High Performance Center running taping equipment), and record the events from the stands. All this footage can then be captured into software programs and digitized, analyzed, and basically picked apart for our teams to view and learn from.

So, in a nut shell, that's how I'm contributing to the success of Team USA. Keep asking questions, so I can have some focus to my ramblings! I'll write more after I've had some shut-eye!

With a little help from my friends. . .

A huge "Thank you" goes out to my friend David for his assitance in getting this blog up and running and for helping me add the links! David and his wife, Amy, are avid cyclists in the Baton Rouge area (not to mention Amy was my perfectly matched running partner when I lived there!). The "Ryan" link is for their son - future athlete extraordinaire!!

I'm off!

As you can see from the countdown clock on complex at the Olympic Training Center, we're only 12 days to opening ceremonies in Torino. Notice that we are also 922 days from the Summer Olympics in Beijing. We're always focused at least 2 Olympics ahead!

I've spent most of the weekend running errands and packing. It almost feels like I am getting ready for a Navy deployment - shining my boots and trying to anticipate everything I'll need over the next 2 months! I've been so busy over the last month that I haven't really had the chance to get excited, but now that I'm packing, my enthusiasm is growing! I love international travel, especially when I can stay for a while and take in the culture. It's not like I'll get to go sightseeing everyday, but just living and working in Torino will allow me to experience much more than if I were to just spend a week or two on vacation there.

I leave early tomorrow morning, so barring any travel dramas, the next post will be from Torino. Ciao!

Tentative itinerary

I'm sure this will change as time goes on, but for now. . .
Jan. 30 - Mar 22 Torino, Italy for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games
Mar 22 - Mar 27 Houma, Louisiana for family lovin and crawfish season!
Apr 20 - Apr 26 Beijing, China for Olympic Games 2008 site visits and meetings
Jun 6 - Jun 20 Western European vacation (not sure which countries yet!)

Although I went to Torino in May last year, I'm quite sure the city will look and feel much different draped in the excitement of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics. For those of you who are familiar with my aversion for cold weather, you are probably amused that I am excited about a trip to the mountains in the dead of winter! What can I say. . . I'm dedicated to my job!

The Beijing trip is still up in the air, so I'll report more on that as time gets closer.

The trip I'm probably most excited about is the Western European vacation I will be taking in June. For almost a decade, I've been promising my nephew (and god son), Andy, that I would take him backpacking in Europe as a high school graduation present. Well, it's finally come- Andy graduates in May 2006. Some friends of mine here in Colorado Springs own the most wonderful coffee shop in the Springs called Ravens Nest Coffee. It's just a few blocks down the road from where I work, so when I get a free moment (which isn't as often as I'd like!), I hang out there. I've gotten to know Paul, Heather, and their kids over the last couple of years. As luck would have it, their daughter, Alexis, is also graduating in May and will be joining us on this backpacking experience as a high school graduation gift also! One of the most refreshing experiences in the world is to see someone experiencing independent travel for the first time. I'm very excited to see how Andy and Alexis perceive western Europe and all the things we'll see and do while there.

So, we don't have an itinerary yet; we'll hash that out as time gets closer and Andy and Alexis determine what they really want to see in 2 weeks.

There's still a lot of packing and planning to be done before I leave for Torino, so posts may be sporadic from now until I get there. Please bear with me and keep checking back.

OK, I've joined the blogging world! With all the travel I have scheduled for 2006, I figured this would be the easiest way for friends and family to keep in touch with me. So, stayed tuned. . .