Today I arrived at the USA Track & Field training camp in Dalian. It was a very long day, in which many of the athletes who attended the opening ceremonies were going on 3-4 hours of sleep. Most of us arrived back to the Olympic Village around 2 A.M. and departed for our training camp around 6 A.M. Our flight wasn't until around 11, but due to heightened security measures were had to depart early. Once we arrived in Dalian, we were shown the full force of the awesome Chinese security. Dalian is a city of almost 6 million people and they closed all the roads leading from the airport to our training camp, some 1/2 hour away. That is just an example of the how well they are taking care of us.
The locals have been awesome, and all of us here are extremely grateful and thankful of all the efforts and collaboration of the Chinese officials with the USA security forces. The mood quickly changed and became more serious once we arrived to the hotel where we were notified of the attacks on the American tourists at the Forbidden City as well as the declaration of war between Georgia and Russia. As far away as some of the problems seem to be, it still hits home and reminds all of us here that the real world is still going on without us and it is up to us to show the world an unbiased competition without prejudice. tomorrow I finally have a day off. I plan to sleep, unpack, check some emails and catch up with my family, and sleep some more. Catch up with you tomorrow.
Mike++
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