After the World Championships I treated myself to 3 weeks away from the pool. I spent the time seeing family and friends in Switzerland and a couple of days doing nothing but surfing at the coast here in Los Angeles. On August 22^nd the next chapter of “Mission London 2012” began.

Thanks to my performances in Shanghai, I have already pre-qualifed for the 2012 Olympic Games. With this hurdle behind me I can now fully concentrate on training and preparing for next year. Today, there are only 315 days left until the open ceremonies in the capital of the United Kingdom. The days are going by fast so it’s been imperative that I’ve gotten myself back into a routine.

The first few days of swimming were incredibly painful. I could hardly believe how fast I lost my “feel” for the water. I prided myself not touching the water during my weeks off. I quickly regretted that when I dove in for our first practice. Haha…. However, I know that the weeks I took off were necessary to clear my head and come back to training with new found motivation and energy.

The last couple of weeks have been incredibly intense but I have found to enjoy pushing myself back into shape and racing some of the best swimmers in the world on a daily basis. In order to achieve my goals in London I will have to work hard every single day. I’m ready!

For now it’s important for me to get back into a routine. I think that routine is the quickest way to get in shape. My body needs to get used to waking up at 6:30am and lifting weights on Mondays and Fridays. I started doing doubles last week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My body is broken down but I know that with time and routine I’ll get to where I want to be :)