Sports

I competed in a Mongolian swim meet three weekends ago. My friend from work, who swam for his University in the US, asked if I wanted to participate. I thought it would be a good incentive to work out and get back into shape, but I only got in one 30 minute workout before the big day. 

There were two events, the 50 m breaststroke and 50 m freestyle. My friend and I got first and second in both races. I had a time of 34 seconds in the breaststroke and 27.5 in the freestyle. I was actually surprised by my freestyle time, considering I had done almost no physical activity in over three months. The most interesting part of the swim meet was the ceremonies. They had an opening ceremony and awards/closing ceremony. They were the most official swimming ceremonies I had ever seen, it felt like I had won a world championship. In fact, even the US Nationals has less pomp and flair then this meet. In the closing ceremony, all the athletes processed out and lined the pool deck, there were officials dressed in white uniforms, some officers dressed in military uniforms, cameras taking video, FINA posters, a podium with a giant picture of Michael Phelps... It was pretty awesome. I also won 80,000 tugrugs (about 60 bucks) and a free gym membership. It was quite a rewarding experience haha.

In other sports related news, I have been playing basketball every Tuesday night with my co-workers. There is a gymnasium inside the Ministry building that houses our office, and we rent out time there starting at 8 o'clock. Its been really fun but I still suck at basketball...nothing has changed since my middle-school days. I bought some baller b-ball shoes at the black market for 20 bucks, so at least I look good when I play. We usually play for about three hours, so its a pretty good workout. I usually take a thirty minute break in the middle to teach a yoga class to my female co-workers in the corner. That is all...for sports in Mongolia.