From Ft. Myers with Love

We made it.

Thanks to some swift, excellent driving from Charlie and Anthony, the Howard University swimmers have arrived in Ft. Myers, Florida for their fourth straight winter in the care of Florida Gulf Coast University.  Today's forecast was 75 degrees without a cloud in the sky.  What a pleasant welcome!

This year we are staying at the Homewood Suites by Hilton, right by the Ft. Myers Airport.  This place is fantastic.  It's 7 minutes from the pool, across the street from a massive outdoor mall and right off Route 75 for easy arrival and departure.  The rooms are very comfortable with high-definition televisions, Internet, full kitchens and lots of other neat stuff.  Because we arrived so early, we could stay in our rooms for about two hours before heading to the pool for our 2pm practice.

We had the entire facility to ourselves and it was great.  The water was pristine and calm and the warm sun glistened the surface as we passed through the 81 degree pool.  The workout was solid and the Bison looked pretty good considering everyone had been traveling for an extensive amount of time.

After 2100 yards together, the team broke into four separate groups with similar foundations in the main set.  Here's a look at Miles, Ben and Trent's main set, with the other three groups having similar aerobic intentions:
10x75s on 1:15- 25 Fly Kick with board (hips up,) 50 Free, descend 1-4
12x100s on 1:30- #4-9 = Descend 1-5 starting at 85%
10x125s on 2:00 - 25 Short Axis Sprint, 100 Free

When practice ended, we went on a run through the jungle that is the campus of FGCU.  We knew there was an element of danger to our jog as the campus is a natural habitat for many endangered and dangerous wildlife.  I would be lying if I told you I knew where I was leading the team.  I figured we would get lost and read a couple signs that would eventually return us to the bus.  The jog went for about 30 minutes.  Here is a clip of some of the things we saw on our jaunt through the campus.

We made our way to SuperTarget to find some groceries and returned to the comforts of our hotel before 6PM.  All-in-all, it was a magnificent first day.  Tomorrow begins our first day of two practices.  The wake-up calls are set and we'll be ready.  We look forward to checking-in with you throughout the week.  Please feel free to send your comments and well wishes to the team.


It was an outstanding day for a swim.