Time to throw for the gold

U.S. discus thrower Stephanie Brown-Trafton of Galt is keeping a journal about her Olympic experience. Following is Sunday's entry.

We said good-bye to Dalian and 'ni hou' to Beijing this week. The flight from Dalian to Beijing is about one hour. I told Chef Sacks that I would miss him and his cooking and we would keep in touch.

The morning training session yesterday was a little wet, then in the afternoon a monsoon hit. It was wet to say the least. After the rain it was beautiful and I took a walk along the private villas that neighbor the hotel. These villas are perched on top of the cliffs and I hear they can be reserved for $2000 a night. Maybe next time!

Chef Sacks and a few athletes went to the hotel bar and played a few rounds of pool ... no celebratory drinks quite yet, just billiards. I can tell you that I am not the best pool player and this game was a marathon.

I was just starting to get used to Dalian and the routine but now we have to leave and go back to Beijing. A few days ago I was dying to get back but now I can actually say that I am sad to leave.

The Olympic village is so alive with activity now. There are so many people walking, riding bikes, eating at the dining halls, trading pins, riding buses, hanging off golf carts, yelling, laughing, talking on cell phones. I cant walk 10 feet without stepping to the left and right trying to avoid walking into someone who is traveling in the opposite direction. The noise is incredible.

You can hear 50 different conversations on the way to eat lunch and not one is in English. Yesterday in the computer lounge I heard an Australian athlete get in a fight with a girlfriend during a phone conversation back home. It was embarrassing for everyone around. Around here I suppose privacy is something that is even harder to get than a ticket to see the Dream Team play.

My schedule is incredibly full now with all of the training sessions, traveling to hospitality suites, medical treatments (by medical I mean deep tissue massage).

I had time to check my e-mail twice in the last two days and even then I only had 10 minutes each time. This constant running around is fun but I know it can take its toll very quickly if I don't take some time for myself. I found a few hours one day this week to see a table tennis match at one of the Olympic venues. I had a good time but in truth I wish I had gone to see the weightlifting competition instead. I thought table tennis might be exciting but after five minutes of watching I knew it was not going to be my favorite spectator sport.

Athletes get the opportunity to pick up tickets to watch other events anytime and each morning an athlete can see what events are available and get a free ticket. This is one of my favorite things to do after I am done with competition.

I traveled to the Bank of America and Nike Hospitality suites today. The Nike suite is mainly for athletes sponsored by Nike. When I arrived I had a credential made and picked up a gear bag full of shoes, shirts, shorts, a new watch and sunglasses. I will have to get someone to check an extra bag on the plane for me to get all of my clothes and gifts home.

The Bank of America Hometown Hopefuls suite is a place to relax and eat meals. They also offer one free event ticket for each registered athlete and four of their friends and family. This is an awesome service because I can get tickets to see other events or give these tickets to my friends here. I look forward to watching judo, weightlifting, BMX, and other sports.

My first qualifying round is tomorrow and I am ready to 'throw for the gold' as my friend Rachel likes to say. I went to the warm up at the track today and got a feel for the venue. At the Olympics there is a more complicated procedure for checking in to the event. It helps to do a walk-through of the different call rooms. There will be at least 19 people in my flight tomorrow so I need to make sure I have enough time to warm up thoroughly.

The automatic qualifying mark is 61.50 meters (201 feet). All three Americans should be able to throw this mark tomorrow and I look forward to going to the finals with my teammates. Tomorrow is the going to be a great day but I want to be competing in the finals on Monday. Monday will be the big day!