New Year's Baptism

Ham finished the jog the fastest while running the furthest.

January 1, 2013

It took a lot longer than usual to write this entry.  It's gone through several drafts and, in an attempt to paint a picture that our first practice of 2013 was rosy, I found myself having to dig very deep to find the positives.  Rather than harp on the negative, here is a recap of the purpose, the practice and the positives from our shore swim. 

January 1, 2013, 7:35AM, Ft. Myers Beach, FL

During the first day of the new year, we find ourselves on the Gulf Coast, watching the sun rise in the hopes that the new year will bring new fortunes.  Seems cheesy enough, right?

After a 10-minute stretch, we jog as a team for about 1.25 miles on the coastline before turning around and returning to our bags.  Once congregated, we grab our goggles and head for the water.  Another simple concept at work: if we can swim in the Gulf of Mexico on January 1, we can do anything.  Not only anything, but anything that others wouldn't dream of doing.

I invite you to read last year's entry about our Gulf Swim.  It's helps me to walk down memory lane to reignite those first days of the new year when we could tell stories of when we felt we could do anything.  Last year's entry also provides links for the 2010 and 2011 Gulf Swim, which were, literally, life-changing events for those involved.

Miriam was kind enough to take a video of part of the swim.  You can draw your own conclusions from what you see and hear. 

Credit is due to Mohamed Bouzaghrane.  He was first in the water and swam ahead of his teammates.  He would have kept swimming to Naples if asked.

Credit is due to E'lan Brewer, Janai Ederaine and Keely Monge.  The three women were the next group out to sea and swam like they knew what they were doing.

Credit is due to Trent Popovich, Ben Skelding, Emeka Brooks and Benta Horton-Gee.  They, too, stuck together and, even though it took them a little longer to get motivated, they swam as far as their teammates leading the charge. 

The afternoon was a treat for many reasons:
1) It was beautiful outside ... upper 70s and sunny.
2) Instead of returning to FGCU at 2PM, we returned at 4PM.
3) Practice was more of an advanced warm-up than a practice (3600 meters total.)
4) We had the opportunity to swim with and against North Dakota.

Our "neighbors" from North Dakota have provided a competition for us each of the last three trips to Ft. Myers.  They are a gracious and friendly group of 42 and were willing to practice with us. 

A beautiful day to make a friend...

The practice last for about 80 minutes before we split into our respective teams and formed relays that would compete against one another.  The first relay, the women's 200 meter medley, was our most impressive showing as a group.  Benta, Briana Dillon, Janai and E'lan took first place in a time of 2:21.59. 


Janai listens attentively while Benta refuses to smile.

Miles and Trent continue to show-off their social skills.

If you are wondering who that person is in the middle of the photo, that is North Dakota junior Camille Merwin.  Janai and E'lan swam with Camille and made it a point to snap this photo at the conclusion of our time with UND.  It was a very impressive gesture from the Lady Bison.

Practice wasn't over for the team.  Upon leaving the facility, we did four rounds of pull-ups, crunches and dips underneath the moonlit sky.  This was a great effort by the team as the encouragement was at a high level and the performances was equally intense.

Certainly a lot of activity for the first day of the new year.  Tomorrow we begin our quest to relocate to Washington, DC.  We hope you have a terrific beginning to your new year.

2012's Finale - Part II

By the time 2PM EST on December 31 rolled around, the Bison swimmers pictured above had been through 8 water practices and 4 dryland routines in roughly 96 hours.  Miriam was kind enough to interview one of our senior leaders just before practice in the pool had begun.  Apparently:
a) we've infused a lot of enthusiasm for these workouts.
b) we haven't been working Darell hard enough,
b2) so he has to continue his training by walking briskly to the mark in the cement before finding the camera.
c) most of us will have no problem with our 2013 resolutions.
d) Darien knows a mustache when he sees one.

There were a lot of things working in the favor of the Bison on New Year's Eve for their afternoon workout.  It was sunny.  They had 2 traditional workouts planned.  And it wasn't cloudy.

This video goes through what is called a Snake and a Jog.  (We welcome anyone that would like to give this routine a particular name, like "The Submissions" or "The Lemming Set" or "Extreme Lifeguarding Set.")  I really enjoy seeing which members of the team give the best effort on this particular set.  A couple clarifications from the narration on the video:
1) We've done some form of this set during all four Florida trip, but each of them has been unique. 
2) After careful reflection, we've established 5 traditions in Florida (2 involve a body of water, 2 involve dryland, and 1 involves eating.)
3) You can modify the instructions for the swim however you'd like.

When this set had concluded, roughly 45% of the practice in the pool had been finished.  The remaining practice featured Day III of CCSA objectives that included training for the 1650 freestyle, the 100 freestyle and the 200s of stroke.  We were very proud of the efforts the team put forth and, just as they did on December 30, the momentum they continued to create from previous practices carried into this workout.

One of the other aforementioned traditions that took place after their workout in the pool finished was our game of Capture the Flag.  Unlike previous years, this year we played on the hotel grounds, which was this barren pit on sand and straw that you can probably make into two or three pitches.  No one was able to get any photos or video of the game, and it's probably just as well.  This game was, by far, the most action-packed and well-strategized contest we've had. 

We kept the same teams for Capture the Flag as Hoover Ball and, this time, Team Ripped (Kelvin, Darell, Ben, Emeka, Mohamed, Janai, Ashley, Keely, Benta and Miriam) were victorious by the score of 5-4.

There you have it .. 2012 is in the books and it's on to 2013.  There will not be a longer stretch of difficult training for the Bison in such a compacted amount of time.  We still have 36 hours remaining in the Ft. Myers Experience and we'll check back in with more raw footage and commentary.  Until then, enjoy your new year.

2012's Finale - Part I

December 31, 2012

When you fully immerse yourself in the training trip experience, sometimes it's difficult to put into words just how unique the lineup of routines and challenges is.  The reflection and reaction need to be staples of the trip.  Without sincere reflection of the work you are putting in, the good habits become much more fleeting than they do solidified.

The final long course practice of 2012 was meant to be a grueling routine of fin work incorporating orange and blue levels of power.  We broke into two groups:
Ice Kingdom: E'lan, Bri, Janai, Keely, Darien, Ben, Miles, Ham, Emeka
Bone Chillers: Ashley, Shaianne, Benta, Kelvin, Darell, Trent, Matt, Cam

Each group executed 2100 meters of fin work with two different objectives; Bone Chillers were more sprint-based with the Ice Kingdom mixing long-distance IM with base-free work.  Even though two unnamed Bison could not finish the workout, those that stayed did a nice job pushing each other through the timed set. (6x50s in Pink + either 4x200s in Orange or 6x100s in Blue/Orange.)

Here are two quick looks from the morning:

Despite the 6:22AM EST chill, we prepare for the 2100 meters of fin action.

Bri and Janai exit the pool after a job well done.

The thing I like about this two photos is the massive difference in sunlight.  The math will tell us that only 1 hour and 35 minutes have passed, but it looks like two completely different scenes.  For all of you out there that have never experienced swimming outside, it can seem like an excruciatingly long time during a practice that has such stark backdrop contrasts.  The effort was there this morning.

The master plan was to show some reactionary videos about the practice the team just endured.  Unfortunately, the content was immersed in rated-R language and could not be shown with some type of waiver.  Even after a second and third take, it was better to allow the team some time to gather themselves before asking some questions.  The good news is we did manage to make a super video (click to the left) giving you a small glimpse at our living arrangements as well as the breakfast routines that some of the Bison chose to partake in. 

Some interesting notes from this video:
* Notice how Ben doesn't want to hear Trent sing anymore, so he begins to narrate.
* The team is all situated on the first floor of the Homewood Suites.
* Mohamed took that plate from the three people chasing him.  That's why he was walking so fast.
* None of the strangers in the video volunteered to be in the video.
* Ashley continues to star in all of the videos. 
* Yes, Darell talks like that all of the time.
* If you want to learn like Emeka learns, click here.
* Look how Trent goes to chop the eggs with the spoon and chops nothing.

Enjoy.  We'll check-in later.