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.