Saint Francis University: 2011 Training Trip Blog - Day Six and Seven

by Josh Huger (MrUtopia)

Saint Francis University: 2011 Training Trip Blog - Day Four and Five

SFU's Kathleen Lyon will provide us with daily updates on the Red Flash

Day 6:

The day has finally come where we finally had a full day off of training. It was a time to sleep in, recover the muscles, and do whatever we wanted in the area. My roommates and I slept in until 10 in the morning which was bittersweet. We probably could have slept in later but we didn’t want to completely waste away the day. Our coach offered to take the team to the Miami Zoo as something fun to do that was also relatively cheap. Me and 3 other teammates decided to take the 45 minute drive to Miami and see the zoo.

We convinced our coach to leave at 11 so we could sleep in really late, and sleeping in that late felt amazing and refreshing. Around 11am my coach took the van and we were off to Miami to visit the zoo. The admission ticket only cost $14 and it was more than worth the money that we spent! It took us nearly 4 hours to walk around the entire zoo and we were not even walking very slow! I couldn’t believe how large the park was and how many animals they had on display. It was one of the better zoo’s I have ever visited, much better than the DC zoo. Not only was the park large but you could actually see the animals up-close, It was as if I could reach my hand out and touch them. Halfway through the walk around the park we decided to grab a bite to eat and relax our feet. By 4:30 in the afternoon, nearly 4 ½ hours later we were finally on our way back to the hotel.

Once I returned my roommates had chicken alfredo already made for dinner and I found out that they had relaxed at the beach all day and just enjoyed their day off. From what I am aware of this is what the rest of the team did as well. The day has gone by quickly and we head back in the water tomorrow morning at 8am. The high is supposed to be only 57 so it is going to be quite chilly in the morning but we are 5 practices away from heading home! Let the countdown begin!

Day 7:

Our day off is far behind us and we woke up to another day of doubles and running. We woke up and began our 2 mile run to the pool at 7:30. It was a very chilly high 40’s, low 50’s and a lot of wind in the area. Following the run we had about 10 minutes before we needed to jump in the pool but since it was very cold outside we just dove in immediately. The wind was blowing so hard during the morning practice that branches off of palm trees were even falling off!

One of our first sets involved pulling and our paddles were nearly being pushed back as we were swimming because the wind was blowing so hard. It was probably a good 20-25mph gusts at some moments. Many of the swimmers didn’t want to bring our face out of the water and chose to swim with snorkels to make the cold weather a little better. Practice was not too bad at all. Our main set was IM based and heart rate was to be kept between 170-180. It seemed to go by extremely fast and the rest of the day did as well! Following practice, two of my teammates and I chose to walk back to the hotel rather than sit in the van.

We decided to get a good breakfast at a local restaurant that has been known for their breakfasts, it turned out to be a great decision minus the cold weather that was kept throughout the morning. Following breakfast we went to the various shops to find small gifts for friends and family members.

We finally returned to the hotel around 1230 and from there we had a quick lunch and took a 2 hour nap before practice. The 2 hour nap flew by for me and by the time I woke up it was already time to get ready for practice #2!

The second practice ended up not being bad at all, distance and middle distance were put together and we swam another IM based set which was a nice change up, especially for the distance group who has been swimming consistent 400’s. Getting out of practice was probably the most painful I have ever felt because my arms have still not recovered and the weather was so cold that it was almost unbearable!

For dinner, our coach decided to treat us out and get pizza for everyone while we also had our last team meeting of the trip. We went over our January schedule and our last few days of practice. He told us to be prepared for a very hard 6 weeks but one that will certainly pay off when our conference meet happens in February. We wake up tomorrow morning to our last double of training trip and the team is looking forward to our last day at the beach!

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