Full Squad...Full Throttle



Thursday morning featured a photo for the ages...what are your thoughts?

It was slightly more daunting getting from the bed to the bus to the barracks on Thursday morning.  The wind had taken the morning off but the chill still blanketed the Gulf Coast.  We stretched as a team to kneed some of the soreness, stiffness and strain from the previous few days and by 6:03AM, we trotted into the steamy waters of FGCU. 

Finally, everyone scheduled to make the trip has arrived so the level of intensity is bound to elevate from just two days ago.  This morning, everyone had a hand in our finest water practice to date, undoubtedly to the perfect attendance. 

Our warm-up was not a sharp as it could have been, but we bounced back with a well-executed fin set.  That made way for our most physically demanding set of the trip.  Groups were established - one a longer freestyle clan and a two others focusing on short distance, main strokes.

Here the main set for the distance clan...remember this is long course meters:
9x400s
#1 - Base...Heart ra:te at threshold on 1 min. rest
#2-3 - 4x200s on 2:50 / 3:10 - base
#4 - Pink, Breathe every 3
#5-6 - 4x200s on 3:10 / 3:30 - 50 IM order, 150 Free
#7 - FAST for time...No limits
#8-9 - 4x200s on 2:30 / 3:00 ... closer to orange.

Ben, Miles, Trent, Darien, Camille and E'lan tackled this set and their drive to elevate their execution was commendable.  After the 7th 400, the group was visibly tired, but each battled through the final 4x200s on a more challenging interval are recorded some excellent splits.

Below is the main set for the sprint group:
5 x 100 @ 2:00 (25 stroke/ 75 free)
4 x 50 @ 1:15 des 1-4 stroke
4 x 100 @ 2:00 (50 stroke / 50 free)
4 x 50 @ 1:10 des 1-4 stroke
3 x 100 @ 2:00 (75 stroke / 50 free)
4 x 50 @ 1:05 des 1-4 stroke
2 x 100 @ 2:00 (100 stroke)
4 x 50 @ 1:00 all fast stroke

Fifties and 100s may sound more enjoyable than your run-of-the-mill 400, but to continue to churn fast 50 after fast 50 is asking a lot on the muscles.  The group really took their efforts to new levels.  As the amount of stroke work increased, so did the difficulty of the interval and speed. 

The Bison complete their final 10 minutes of practice as the sun peaks through.

It was very difficult choosing three student-athletes that performed well when circumstances this morning were less than ideal.  Nevertheless, here are the three stars for the morning:

#3 - Shaianne Johnson - always positive, always smiling, always willing to listen, Shaianne had one of her finest practices as a Bison.  Johnson received quite a few complements from the coaching staff about her stroke work and improvement with rolling her shoulders.

#2 - Miles Hector - Never one to shy from an obstacle, Miles led the lane with the most challenging intervals coupled with the longest yardage.  His 7th 400-meter split time of 4:43 was the fastest on the team.

#1 - Janai Ederaine - we knew there was something missing from the team and that was our sophomore sunshine from Corona, CA.  Fresh from her own training and just in time for a life-changing workout, Janai swam butterfly for every 50 in her main set, doing an outstanding job maintaining tempo and rhythm.

We're back on the bus very shortly for more physical challenging in and out of the water.  Stay tuned.