I woke up around 9:00 a.m. to Chris tapping on my foot.
"Hey man," he said. "Do you want to go see the women's marathon this morning?"
I thought about it for a couple of seconds, but then I declined. Don't get me wrong; I love distance running. I have been in love with running ever since I participated in cross country during my junior year of high school. I just did not feel like racing back and forth between different parts of the city to follow these women and see them for a couple of seconds. To top it all off, unlike Chris, I did not know anybody participating in this race. It was different when I watched the high school state cross country race in Pennsylvania back in 2008. I had run all over Hershey Park looking for my dear neighbor, Morgan Richards, as she finished in sixth place as a freshman. I did not feel that same motivation this morning.
After sleeping for another twenty minutes or so, I decided to wake up and grab some breakfast. The only plans I really had for this day, the last day that I would be in London, were to go to church and to pack/organize my things for the LONG travel day looming ahead. Before Leslie and Laura had left to see some of the marathon with Chris and Colleen, I asked them if they wanted to meet up for church. We decided to convene around 4:30 p.m. in the hostel before heading over to the Westminster Chapel, the church that I visited last Tuesday. In the meantime, I did a little more blogging during the morning hours. During this time, I saw the sky grow dark outside and the floodgates opening from the heavens.
"I guess I made the right decision," I whispered to myself.
Around noon, I decided to get a shower and get dressed up for church (I just wanted to look fancy, alright?). I went into the room to see if anyone was around. James was just waking up. I told him that I was planning on finding a pub to watch tennis at. Today was scheduled to be the last day of Olympic tennis. The bronze and gold medal matches in men's singles were scheduled for today. For bronze, world No. 2 Novak Djokovic from Serbia would take on Juan Martin Del Potro from Argentina. For gold, world No. 1 Roger Federer from Switzerland would battle world No. 3 Andy Murray from Great Britain, a rematch of the Wimbledon final from 28 days ago. James decided to come along with me, and we ended up going back to the Euston Flyer, the pub that we visited two Fridays ago. James got an English breakfast and I got a club sandwich with some chips and a milk. During this time, we watched both the finish to the women's marathon and the women's doubles final in tennis. In the marathon, two women from Africa finished in the top two: one from Ethiopia and one from Kenya. In tennis, the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, won gold by defeating two Czech girls. This was Serena's second gold medal, which she won the day after STEAMROLLING Maria Sharapova for the singles gold medal. We left at the end of this match, with James planning to seek out some museums to look at for the rest of the day. I headed back to the hostel and camped out in the basement to watch the gold medal men's singles match.
I used this time to continue catching up on my blog (I would forget about it at times), talk with some friends who were hanging around, and watch the match unfold. The match started out even, with each player holding as expected. Leading 3-2, Murray finally broke through and put Federer in a tough spot by breaking him. This was the beginning of a 9-game streak by Murray, who was playing inspired tennis. Granted, Federer was not at his best, and at times he looked disinterested in this match. Still, it felt like Murray had an answer for just about everything the Swiss threw at him. Murray ended up winning 6-2 6-1 6-4 in what was probably the greatest win of his career. All of the Team GB fans were going wild after Murray's triumph. As a Federer fan, I was not entirely thrilled with how he performed, but overall I was very happy for Murray. This was a long time coming for him, and to do this at the Olympics in front of his home crowd must have felt surreal. As a side note, I was updated at one point in the match that Juan Martin Del Potro had defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win the bronze medal in singles. Djokovic definitely hasn't been the same dominant player that he was in 2011.
Following this match, I went upstairs to wait for Laura and Leslie to return from being out and about. A couple members of the group were already in the room, talking and laughing about their experiences on this trip. They were playing a game in which you go around the room and pick one word to describe everybody. I threw in my lot for this game, and I also received some very positive, encouraging words from everyone else. As we were playing, Laura, Leslie, and Laura's friend Jared appeared. I learned from Leslie that they had already attended a church service, but they were still going to go along with me.
We made our way toward the metro station when I noticed that the service was set to begin in about half an hour. I tried to get in line for a day pass (should have done this earlier), but the line was not really moving anywhere. Out of nowhere, this guy came up to Leslie and I and gave us passes to use. They worked for both of us, but Laura could not get through for some reason. Leslie told Laura to use the pass that was just given to her, but that did not work either. Eventually, Laura just took my pass and I received Jared's oyster card to get through. I had felt lots of pressure and acted a little out of character, so I went into a corner on the metro and said a quick prayer to collect myself. I spent the majority of the ride getting to know Jared and talking about his faith. We ventured all the way back to St. James Park, where we made the turn toward the military barracks and eventually found the Westminster Chapel. Leslie and Laura had made the last-minute decision to not attend the service (not too sure why they even made the trip in the first place...), so Jared and I were left to check it out together.
The main sanctuary was closed off because the church receives a lower attendance during the later service. We had to sneak through a back door to get to the worship hall. As I expected, the service was set up in the contemporary style, with contemporary worship music followed by a lengthy sermon. The pastor talked about the future and about where and when we should expect to see the return of Christ. The answer to this question is that only God knows when this time is. In the meantime, we are called to live each day like Christ and to anticipate his return at all times ("be on watch.") It was a powerful service with an important message. I'm beyond impressed with the level of kindness that people in London have exhibited throughout this trip.
Jared and I exited the church feeling uplifted and refreshed. Laura and Leslie were waiting right outside for us after doing a little bit of shopping and sightseeing. I took a couple of pictures before we headed back to the metro toward King's Cross. Back at the hostel, we went downstairs to find some of the group. The semifinal heats for the men's 100 meter dash had just ended. The final would feature a trio of Americans, including Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay, and Ryan Bailey. It would also include a trio of Jamaicans: Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake, and defending gold medalist Usain Bolt. The race would take place at 10:00 p.m. In the meantime, some of the group went out to the Irish Olympic House to get dinner. I decided to just grab some Subway nearby and get an early start on packing.
After eating, I went upstairs and began my packing adventure. The room was a complete and total mess, so I had to unearth a lot of things before I finally got all of my stuff together. I also used this time to get some laundry done. In addition, as I pulled out my camera to pack it up, I made the decision to take pictures with everybody on the trip. I went downstairs to get pictures with Brenda and Phil, and from there I took pictures with whoever I came in contact with from the group.
As I was packing and taking pictures, Katie Scheff reminded me that the 100 meter final was starting in ten minutes. I took a break and came downstairs to find a spot by the TV. There were a ton of people waiting in anticipation to watch this race. The buildup was absolutely immense. There were a lot of questions surrounding Usain Bolt, from his poor starts to the fact that Yohan Blake flat-out beat him in both the 100 and 200 at the Jamaican qualifying meet. The field that Bolt contended against was extremely strong, featuring four of the fastest 100 times ever run. The race seemed like it could belong to anybody. The room grew eerily silent as the sprinters squatted down by their blocks. There was an eruption of sound once the runners took off. Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay of the US got off to a terrific start. Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt closed in on them quickly, and with about 40 meters to go, Bolt kicked it into overdrive. His stride took over as he blazed past Gatlin, Gay, and Blake for his second consecutive gold medal in the 100. He ran a time of 9.63, the fastest Olympic time of all time and the second fastest 100 time of all time (he has the fastest time as well). Bolt did his characteristic showboating antics after the race. The crowd was absolutely thrilled by the race and by his performance. Blake ended up placing second and Gatlin just edged Gay for the bronze medal.
After the race, I put in another load of laundry and went back upstairs to pack. I tried to deflate my new basketball, but it was much harder than I predicted it would be. The room was starting to become filled up with the entire group doing the same thing. We thoroughly enjoyed our last few hours in each other's company. We played the word game again and I made a quick run out to the convenient store after asking everyone what they wanted. Easy way to get rid of the last few pounds. Everyone in the group wanted to hear me sing a song. I had told everyone that I was a music minor that sang, and they wanted to hear something. I sang a couple of songs by James Taylor, "Carolina In My Mind" and "Sweet Baby James." The group enjoyed the songs, but then they wanted to hear me do something more recent. I think Katie was the one that suggested that I sing an Adele song. So, I looked up "Rolling in the Deep" on Youtube and sang a little bit of it. I got a very good reception despite this being the first time I sang Adele in front of people. We continued to chat and we ended the night with me asking James (who had been drinking a bit and giving some interesting speeches) to predict where we would all be in five years. He said that I would be at the University of Central Florida studying coaching. I don't know if that will be in that exact time period, but it's definitely something that I hope and pray is in my future. After this, we all drifted off to sleep, knowing that we would be scrambling to leave London in a few short
"Hey man," he said. "Do you want to go see the women's marathon this morning?"
I thought about it for a couple of seconds, but then I declined. Don't get me wrong; I love distance running. I have been in love with running ever since I participated in cross country during my junior year of high school. I just did not feel like racing back and forth between different parts of the city to follow these women and see them for a couple of seconds. To top it all off, unlike Chris, I did not know anybody participating in this race. It was different when I watched the high school state cross country race in Pennsylvania back in 2008. I had run all over Hershey Park looking for my dear neighbor, Morgan Richards, as she finished in sixth place as a freshman. I did not feel that same motivation this morning.
After sleeping for another twenty minutes or so, I decided to wake up and grab some breakfast. The only plans I really had for this day, the last day that I would be in London, were to go to church and to pack/organize my things for the LONG travel day looming ahead. Before Leslie and Laura had left to see some of the marathon with Chris and Colleen, I asked them if they wanted to meet up for church. We decided to convene around 4:30 p.m. in the hostel before heading over to the Westminster Chapel, the church that I visited last Tuesday. In the meantime, I did a little more blogging during the morning hours. During this time, I saw the sky grow dark outside and the floodgates opening from the heavens.
"I guess I made the right decision," I whispered to myself.
Around noon, I decided to get a shower and get dressed up for church (I just wanted to look fancy, alright?). I went into the room to see if anyone was around. James was just waking up. I told him that I was planning on finding a pub to watch tennis at. Today was scheduled to be the last day of Olympic tennis. The bronze and gold medal matches in men's singles were scheduled for today. For bronze, world No. 2 Novak Djokovic from Serbia would take on Juan Martin Del Potro from Argentina. For gold, world No. 1 Roger Federer from Switzerland would battle world No. 3 Andy Murray from Great Britain, a rematch of the Wimbledon final from 28 days ago. James decided to come along with me, and we ended up going back to the Euston Flyer, the pub that we visited two Fridays ago. James got an English breakfast and I got a club sandwich with some chips and a milk. During this time, we watched both the finish to the women's marathon and the women's doubles final in tennis. In the marathon, two women from Africa finished in the top two: one from Ethiopia and one from Kenya. In tennis, the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, won gold by defeating two Czech girls. This was Serena's second gold medal, which she won the day after STEAMROLLING Maria Sharapova for the singles gold medal. We left at the end of this match, with James planning to seek out some museums to look at for the rest of the day. I headed back to the hostel and camped out in the basement to watch the gold medal men's singles match.
I used this time to continue catching up on my blog (I would forget about it at times), talk with some friends who were hanging around, and watch the match unfold. The match started out even, with each player holding as expected. Leading 3-2, Murray finally broke through and put Federer in a tough spot by breaking him. This was the beginning of a 9-game streak by Murray, who was playing inspired tennis. Granted, Federer was not at his best, and at times he looked disinterested in this match. Still, it felt like Murray had an answer for just about everything the Swiss threw at him. Murray ended up winning 6-2 6-1 6-4 in what was probably the greatest win of his career. All of the Team GB fans were going wild after Murray's triumph. As a Federer fan, I was not entirely thrilled with how he performed, but overall I was very happy for Murray. This was a long time coming for him, and to do this at the Olympics in front of his home crowd must have felt surreal. As a side note, I was updated at one point in the match that Juan Martin Del Potro had defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win the bronze medal in singles. Djokovic definitely hasn't been the same dominant player that he was in 2011.
Following this match, I went upstairs to wait for Laura and Leslie to return from being out and about. A couple members of the group were already in the room, talking and laughing about their experiences on this trip. They were playing a game in which you go around the room and pick one word to describe everybody. I threw in my lot for this game, and I also received some very positive, encouraging words from everyone else. As we were playing, Laura, Leslie, and Laura's friend Jared appeared. I learned from Leslie that they had already attended a church service, but they were still going to go along with me.
We made our way toward the metro station when I noticed that the service was set to begin in about half an hour. I tried to get in line for a day pass (should have done this earlier), but the line was not really moving anywhere. Out of nowhere, this guy came up to Leslie and I and gave us passes to use. They worked for both of us, but Laura could not get through for some reason. Leslie told Laura to use the pass that was just given to her, but that did not work either. Eventually, Laura just took my pass and I received Jared's oyster card to get through. I had felt lots of pressure and acted a little out of character, so I went into a corner on the metro and said a quick prayer to collect myself. I spent the majority of the ride getting to know Jared and talking about his faith. We ventured all the way back to St. James Park, where we made the turn toward the military barracks and eventually found the Westminster Chapel. Leslie and Laura had made the last-minute decision to not attend the service (not too sure why they even made the trip in the first place...), so Jared and I were left to check it out together.
The main sanctuary was closed off because the church receives a lower attendance during the later service. We had to sneak through a back door to get to the worship hall. As I expected, the service was set up in the contemporary style, with contemporary worship music followed by a lengthy sermon. The pastor talked about the future and about where and when we should expect to see the return of Christ. The answer to this question is that only God knows when this time is. In the meantime, we are called to live each day like Christ and to anticipate his return at all times ("be on watch.") It was a powerful service with an important message. I'm beyond impressed with the level of kindness that people in London have exhibited throughout this trip.
Jared and I exited the church feeling uplifted and refreshed. Laura and Leslie were waiting right outside for us after doing a little bit of shopping and sightseeing. I took a couple of pictures before we headed back to the metro toward King's Cross. Back at the hostel, we went downstairs to find some of the group. The semifinal heats for the men's 100 meter dash had just ended. The final would feature a trio of Americans, including Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay, and Ryan Bailey. It would also include a trio of Jamaicans: Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake, and defending gold medalist Usain Bolt. The race would take place at 10:00 p.m. In the meantime, some of the group went out to the Irish Olympic House to get dinner. I decided to just grab some Subway nearby and get an early start on packing.
After eating, I went upstairs and began my packing adventure. The room was a complete and total mess, so I had to unearth a lot of things before I finally got all of my stuff together. I also used this time to get some laundry done. In addition, as I pulled out my camera to pack it up, I made the decision to take pictures with everybody on the trip. I went downstairs to get pictures with Brenda and Phil, and from there I took pictures with whoever I came in contact with from the group.
As I was packing and taking pictures, Katie Scheff reminded me that the 100 meter final was starting in ten minutes. I took a break and came downstairs to find a spot by the TV. There were a ton of people waiting in anticipation to watch this race. The buildup was absolutely immense. There were a lot of questions surrounding Usain Bolt, from his poor starts to the fact that Yohan Blake flat-out beat him in both the 100 and 200 at the Jamaican qualifying meet. The field that Bolt contended against was extremely strong, featuring four of the fastest 100 times ever run. The race seemed like it could belong to anybody. The room grew eerily silent as the sprinters squatted down by their blocks. There was an eruption of sound once the runners took off. Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay of the US got off to a terrific start. Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt closed in on them quickly, and with about 40 meters to go, Bolt kicked it into overdrive. His stride took over as he blazed past Gatlin, Gay, and Blake for his second consecutive gold medal in the 100. He ran a time of 9.63, the fastest Olympic time of all time and the second fastest 100 time of all time (he has the fastest time as well). Bolt did his characteristic showboating antics after the race. The crowd was absolutely thrilled by the race and by his performance. Blake ended up placing second and Gatlin just edged Gay for the bronze medal.
After the race, I put in another load of laundry and went back upstairs to pack. I tried to deflate my new basketball, but it was much harder than I predicted it would be. The room was starting to become filled up with the entire group doing the same thing. We thoroughly enjoyed our last few hours in each other's company. We played the word game again and I made a quick run out to the convenient store after asking everyone what they wanted. Easy way to get rid of the last few pounds. Everyone in the group wanted to hear me sing a song. I had told everyone that I was a music minor that sang, and they wanted to hear something. I sang a couple of songs by James Taylor, "Carolina In My Mind" and "Sweet Baby James." The group enjoyed the songs, but then they wanted to hear me do something more recent. I think Katie was the one that suggested that I sing an Adele song. So, I looked up "Rolling in the Deep" on Youtube and sang a little bit of it. I got a very good reception despite this being the first time I sang Adele in front of people. We continued to chat and we ended the night with me asking James (who had been drinking a bit and giving some interesting speeches) to predict where we would all be in five years. He said that I would be at the University of Central Florida studying coaching. I don't know if that will be in that exact time period, but it's definitely something that I hope and pray is in my future. After this, we all drifted off to sleep, knowing that we would be scrambling to leave London in a few short
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