Day 10 Sun 7/31. Men’s Water Polo, Beach Volleyball, Gail and Joey

I got up early for a run with my old boss! After 20 years at the USOC, my old boss “left” the USOC a couple years ago and took the head job at Beach Volleyball. It turns out, everything happens for a reason and he absolutely loves his new position. So, this was the day that the Beach Volleyball crew (yes, including Kerri Walsh) was coming through. We used to always run together, and although he’s much faster than me (he was an Olympian so give me a break), he always runs to my pace and he always loves going with me, so it was a no-brainer that I would love to go. It was wonderful to catch up. He was there as staff and wasn’t required (and wasn’t supposed to) stay for the TUAP program. But, of course, he wanted to stay and see me. I saw him there when I was presenting, hoping I would say the right thing and not let him down (even though he’s not my boss anymore, I still always want to make him proud because I learned everything from him). The other girls said he was just beaming and so happy watching me up there. I don’t believe them 100%, but I’ll take it. As I was speaking, I thought in the back of my mind: this is Kerri Walsh’s 5th Olympics. She probably knows the rules better than me! If I were here, I would be like okay okay, shut up, let me get on with everything. But, this program is required for every single athlete that goes to the Games, regardless of what Games this is or what their name is. Yet another day where I was just tired. I feel like it must have something to do with sitting in a windowless conference room and no fresh air all day long. It just takes it out of me for some reason. Yes, I had to take a nap. And, I just wanted to get away from the room. Just go watch golf on TV for a little. So, I did. And then, I decided to work on the rooftop of the hotel. Wow. I should have done that much earlier. It’s high enough up that there’s a cool breeze that runs by, and doesn’t feel like blistering heat. There are tables with (much) comfortable chairs. Fresh air. Quiet. Peaceful. I brought a to-do dinner with me up there and just enjoyed having a little time to myself. Did I also bring a glass of wine in my wine bottle… well… I’m not going to say that I didn’t… It was what I needed. I only had a few more days until Rio. With the majority of everyone here: this is their main assignment. Only a couple of us are actually headed down there. And, I would also say that probably no one here is doing all of it (Team Process and Rio) all over again for the Paralympics. So, although I sometimes feel bad that I didn’t help out enough, I have to realize that I have a longgggg way ahead of me. I can’t wear myself out because it’s only a little over a week out of 2 months. I told myself that I would need to step away whenever possible in the next few days because that would not happen when I got down to Rio. Sarah had asked if we wanted to go to a Soccer game (Houston Dynamo) that night, starting at 8. I respectfully declined, sipped on my wine, and tried (tried) to rest up for the next few days.