Paris 2024 Olympic Update #4: Eduardo Garcia

This is the fourth update from Eduardo Garcia regarding his participation in the Paris 2024 Olympics.

​Tuesday, July 30
I’ve been adjusting to village life and feel pretty comfortable with my surroundings. It’s unique to be surrounded by so many like minded people that share a competitive active lifestyle. We all understand the dedication, sacrifice, and hard work that goes into being an Olympian. My plan today was to complete both of my assigned 45 minute runs on the treadmill due to a heat wave that is coming through. Today the high was forecasted for 90 degree plus conditions with low humidity making it feel nearly 100 degrees. I completed my first run and then stretch afterwards for another half an hour or so. Before my run, I noticed that I developed a pretty intense skin rash on the inner parts of my thighs. I believe I was having an allergic reaction to the oil that the massage therapists were using on me over the last few days. There is a clinic for the athletes on site, so I made sure to stop there after my first run and stretch. I went to the clinic and was given an antibiotic cream to help with the rash. After the doctor received clearance on the medication, I was good to go. I went to my massage therapist Thomas afterwards and did a session with him while telling him beforehand about the skin rash. He did not use the oil and focused on my glutes, hamstrings, and calves. Keith reached out after the massage and received my racing bibs for the marathon! We also talked about the bottle protocol for the marathon and what we know so far. More information will come out in the upcoming days. I got my second run done at the gym and stretched like before. I had dinner with Kruz and we tried the Asian cuisine. It’s probably my favorite so far. Afterwards, we walked to an entertainment lounge for the athletes where there is a large flat screen TV broadcasting the Olympics like NFL Red Zone. We were able to watch multiple competitions on one screen. It was a nice setup. They also have an arcade, a bar with food and drinks, and lounge chairs for hanging out. I finished the day with an ice bath in preparation for tomorrow’s workout. 

Eduardo and Thomas

Hannah's Illustration for Eddie

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Wednesday, July 31
I woke up ready to take on the day. Coach Caldwell gave me one of my last harder sessions that I was going to do at the practice track. I went to the dining hall to grab a quick bite to eat before the workout and headed for the bus that was departing for 7:25am. I was feeling excited and was happy with the quality of runs I’ve been having during my trip to France. I was looking forward to adding another brick to the foundation of work that’s been done. Unfortunately, I had to cut my workout short after experiencing some lingering tightness in my left glute area. At this point I felt disappointed, frustrated, and concerned on why my body was rebelling today. I didn’t stay in this negative headspace long and after a few minutes of remembering all the work that’s been done, I knew I made the right call. I have too much to lose by forcing a workout. I stretched for about half an hour and boarded the bus back to the village. I sent Coach Caldwell a message and he reassured my decision and told me to keep the “good vibes going.” Shortly after he sent me an illustration from one of the “rabbits” from the Greenville Track Club Youth program, called the GTC Rabbits. Thank you Hannah for lifting my spirits with this beautiful drawing. Feeling inspired and motivated, I went straight to working on getting my body back on track. First in line of business was to see my physiotherapist Thomas to address the glute tightness. He’s a native of France with a pretty quiet and stoic personality. When I explained to him what happened at the track with my glute he looked at me and said “ok, let’s do it.” This was probably one of the most painful massages that I’ve received in my life. I was at the edge of the table and was literally yelling. I trusted him and I knew that he was helping me get better. He did several rounds of digging his elbow and thumbs into my glute and would rest. Before the start of the next round he would ask me “are you ready?” I would reply yes and he would say in response, “let’s go!” He also worked on my IT band, which had some knots too! He advised me to take the afternoon off, rest, hydrate, and stretch later. I did as he instructed and took a two and a half hour nap. My glute was tender, but I could feel the blood flow circulating. I believed it was working. I got in a nice stretch after my nap and finished with a cold bath later. I retired to bed and was proud of my determination and fight.

Ice Bath

Watching the Olympics

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Thursday 8/1
The first day of the Olympics in athletics started today with the final of the 20km race walking competition for both male and female. Yang of China won the women’s race with Pintado of Ecuador won on the men’s side. I listened to my body and slept in some. At around 8am I left to grab breakfast. The weather is starting to cool down after the heat wave that came through for the last few days. It was about 70 degrees with lower humidity compared to Greenville, so I felt comfortable. I completed my run and my body felt great! I could feel the soreness from the message, but I had no pain and my stride felt smooth as compared to yesterday. I was really encouraged by this and this gave me confidence to keeping rolling. “I’m going to be fine,” I told myself. I still wanted to do my due diligence and make sure that I’m doing everything to stay healthy before the race. I performed my lift at the gym and then did my stretches. I finished everything by noon and I had the rest of the day to rest and recover. I got a massage from Thomas and he worked on my IT bands today. I still had some knots, but he said that I felt better than yesterday. I went to the Mind Zone room with my roommate Kruz, where we did the virtual reality meditation. It was really cool! They had a simulation of preparing for the Games and the user was guided with breathing techniques for relaxation and self talk. At the end, I was looking into the stars and saw signatures of athletes, I was told to sign my name, and then it floated with everyone else’s. I got dinner and then hopped in the cold bath. Less than ten days away from the moment I’ve been waiting for.

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Greenville Track Club-ELITE was established in 2012 and is in its second decade as a post-collegiate, Olympic-development program. The program developed and produced one participant for the 2024 Olympic Games marathon in Paris, four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles, one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in. Lima, Peru, three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA, one qualifier and participant in the 2021 USATF Olympic Track & Field Trials in the 3000m Steeplechase and three qualifiers for the 2024 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Orlando, FL. The program's runners set four South Carolina State road race records in 2020 (5K, 15K and Half Marathon--twice) and three (15K, 10-Mile and 20K) in 2021. GTC-ELITE also produced the South Carolina Men's 2020 Long Distance Runner of the Year. 

​The program is sponsored and supported by the 52-year-old Greenville Track Club, ASICS, Joy Real Estate (Adopt an Athlete partner), generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Cocoa Elite recovery products, UCAN energy products, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, the DorsiFlex (stretching device), the MOBO board (balance & mobility), On Pace Wellness (nutrition coaching) and LEVER Movement (treadmill body weight support). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.​