2012 London Olympics Blog: The Tae Kwon Do Chronicles: Taking the Plunge

Diana LopezZagreb, from Diana Lopez’s hotel.

Diana Lopez won a bronze medal in tae kwon do in Beijing in 2008 and will be competing again in London this year. Her reports will appear regularly on the 2012 London Olympics blog. This is her third post.

We arrived in Zagreb, Croatia, and l am fighting jet lag. We had our first two workouts Monday, and I just want to sleep. Eleven more days until the opening ceremony! We had a very good training camp in Houston and I’m feeling strong.

The realization that the Olympics are about to begin is starting to set in and I’m ready for all the excitement. My weight is O.K. — still about two kilos (4.4 pounds) over, but I know that when I get closer to the competition my body will shed the rest of the water weight. I weigh in the day before competition. I always look forward to the day I weigh in so I can rehydrate and load up on carbs and protein. As of now, I have to stick with eating lean protein, fruits and vegetables. Of course, I stay away from greasy, fatty foods.

Our hotel in Zagreb is beautiful, and my brother Steven (who also will compete in tae kwon do in London) and I are lucky and spoiled to be sharing a suite. We have a sauna and a whirlpool in our room. We use the whirlpool as our cold plunge, which I am not a big fan of. I hope I can fight my sleep and stay up till at least 10 p.m. and sleep the whole night.

Article source: http://london2012.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/the-tae-kwon-do-chronicles-taking-the-plunge/?partner=rss&emc=rss