We've Arrived and We're Under Way

Day One of our Training Excursion is in the books.  We had our fair share of traffic departing from Washington, DC and ran into a dab of vehicle cogestion as soon as we reached the Gulf.  But the 18-hour drive was made impossibly smooth thanks to our terrific drivers Mickey and Anthony and we've secured our spots in one piece.

Ft. Myers greeted us with a slight drizzle and a sharp wind, but the temperatures are magnificent and show no sign of regressing to the averages of the North.  We arrived at Florida Gulf Coast University just a little after 1PM and the facilities were completely open to us.  The rain intensity had increased and we were having difficulty finding dry spots to place the backpacks and equipment.  This sideways rain, though, was short-lived and once our warm-up had finished, the sun began to peek from the west, dissolving the rain.  This afternoon we used the 50-meter pool and watched as the scoreboard was fixed, just in time for us to utilize the pace clock.

Our first practice was solid.  Most of us had to shake the cobwebs that came from the long bus ride combined with the weekend's Christmas spirit.  We worked on a good amount of long-axis length, a pinch of underwater fly kicking and some uptempo finishing to seal the workout.  Of the three seasons we've come to Florida, this was the most complete, thorough first day we had.

Keely, Briana, Steven and Matt joined us from out-of-town, just in time to make our first stop to Winn Dixie.  I'm pretty sure we increased the store's revenue by about 142%.  With grocery bags in hand, we all found our rooms at the Lighthouse Resort and Inn and Suites.  The rooms are unique with no real pattern to the room numbers, the room layout or the room decor.  Our keys are actual keys, which I don't think I've used for a hotel since the 20th century.  The rooms at The Lighthouse surround a restaurant and, needless to say, the natives are not preparing for 6AM practice for the next few days.  But we're lucky to have kitchens that work, free shampoo and lotion, and each other (drying my eye.)

We close the evening cooking our meals, situating our living quarters and watching some television.  Our alarms are set for tomorrow and we're excited for what FGCU has in store for us.

Looking good on Day One...