Scottish based judo player Michelle Rogers is preparing to make her comeback to the Olympics this month, having made her first and only appearcne in the USA in 1996. 

A member of the Scottish Institute of Sport, she has been living and training in Edinburgh for three years, and will join Euan Burton and Sarah Clark as a genuine medal contender in China.

Prior to her departure, Michelle went with the rest of the GB team to Japan for a pre-Olympics training camp.  Here’s the ups and downs of her trip...

In Japan, I was loving...
...the cleanliness.  Being clean and tidy and respecting your surroundings seems to effortlessly permeate Japanese culture.  The streets, the trains, even the public loos rarely have a drop of rubbish to be seen.  There is no chewing gum on the pavements and it’s customary to remove your shoes as you enter most buildings or homes.  I am liking that.

I was hating...
...travel kettles, running off low voltage Japanese sockets.  How long can it possibly take to make my morning cuppa?

I was eating...
...beef and rice bowls served up in super-fast time, courtesy of the healthy fast-food chain, ‘Sukiya’.

I was drinking...
...Pocari Sweat, an isotonic sports drink.  It’s much lighter and more refreshing  than anything I’ve tasted in the UK.  Dodgy name, great taste!

I was texting...
...nobody!  My phone isn’t working over here.  Oh well, at least it’ll save a hefty phone bill on my return!

I was training...
...with the rest of the British Olympic team.  We’re spending time at various dojos in and around Tokyo.  It’s the randori (fighting practice) that I’ve had since I tore a muscle in my hip in February and it feels good to be back fighting.

I was missing...
...my bedroom, or my boudoir as I prefer to call it.  It’s newly decorated and I have a nice, big new bed.  I seem to be spending very little time in said bed these days, however.  I am missing that and my lovely boudoir.

I was watching...
...apart from a televised eating competition that I happened to catch in the communal area of the Tskuba international residence, where a relatively slight Japanese lady shovelled massive amounts of noodles down her neck, without as much as a burp it seemed, not a lot.

I was trying to...
...establish a balance between getting the work done on the mat without pushing myself too much as to aggravate niggles or injuries.

I was wishing...
...I hadn’t lost my flippin’ iPod at the Kodakan dojo in central Tokyo, three days before we were due toi come home.

I was winning...
...in the great shopping arena that is Tokyo.  At the big market in the Ueno district,  there are some serious bargains to be had...and I’ve had ‘em!  Including a pair of trainers SO funky that they have been known to dance on their own!

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You can track Michelle’s every move in Beijing right here at www.inthewinningzone.com
 
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