Good Morning, Ft. Myers

The bus pulled from the Lighthouse Resort at 5:16AM with everyone on board.  The sky had cleared nicely as the air chilled our muscles in time for stretching.  The lifeguards reeled the pool covers and a glimpse of steam swirled throughout the 50-meter arena. 

The trip may have begun on Monday and our first practice may have been Tuesday, but Florida Training doesn't officially commence until that FIRST morning baptism.  It's a sign that we are, genuinely, beginning to make sacrifices for the good of our teammates and season.  Training with a tropical backdrop can feel like an oxymoron, but any strides we make towards personal and program achievements are not accomplished without that sacrifice.

The battle of waking up before most of the world and beginning the regiments outdoors is always a rush, usually unpleasant.  There wasn't anything fancy about the workout, though.  The true test of perseverance came just 25 minutes into practice.  The Bison were in the middle of 15x100s at a moderate pace combining drill with freestyle.  The final 8x100s in the set required the team members to climb from the water atop the tall bulkhead and dive back into the water for a 50 of freestyle with an aggressive finish.  Getting out of the water was not as easy as it sounds and the winds were pushing 20mph, a harsh reminder that swimming in the water was much more pleasant than climbing out of it.  Practice moved a brisk pace and the aerobic assignments that we endured made way for the chance for fast 100s to conclude the circuit.

During our training trip, we will highlight the THREE STARS OF PRACTICE, acknowledging them with a chalice, a bag of microwavable popcorn and a handshake.  This morning's three stars are as follows:

#3 - Matthew Calhoun - If you were wondering why Matthew Jerome was not in yesterday's photo, you'll have to get the full story from him.  He made amends for his peculiar absence by taking command of his lane and showcased 4 terrific 300s during the main section of practice.

#2 - Camille Dykes - For the next few mornings, we will be swimming next to the University of St. Thomas, who hearken from the beautiful state of Minnesota.  Camille claims to live very close to St. Thomas and you could tell she tried to impress her hometown university.  She climbed from fourth to first in her lane and challenged herself to swim IM during a difficult stretch of 200s and 100s.

#1 - Steven M. Lott - Excellent work from our men's co-captain.  Come to think of it, Steven, along with Darien and E'lan, are the only Bison to partake in the Florida Training Trip all three years of its existence.  Steven, though, is wrapping-up his HU career and you could tell he wants to make the most of every practice.  His final 6x100s were very strong and he paid careful attention to detail to begin the practice.

The turnaround is quite brief as we'll be headed back to FGCU for our 1PM practice.   We'll need our sunscreen and water bottles...

With the sun still asleep, the Bison take to the pool for their first morning workout.