DAY THREEThe Carthage Red Men continue their weeklong training camp at the University of Houston. This is the same pool that the NCAA Division III championships will take place at. Bryan Pelka and Zach Jole are taking time out of their taxing schedule to give you a glimpse of the trip. Today Bryan offers some insight into the value of a 'recovery' day.
The third day of training trip brought with it some relief and a great deal of anticipation. The morning recovery practice was a relative surprise, magnified only by the water free dryland practice later in the day. Although the day’s level of intensity was somewhat reduced, the day lent a somewhat different but no less important sense of weight to it. Between bouts of medicine balls and ultimate frisbee on the indoor field (good thing it didn't rain because the football team was practicing for the Liberty Bowl outside), we spent some time as a team articulating our expectations of one another and what we all could do to improve everyone’s overall performance. It’s great to see an already close team becoming even closer over the week as the close proximity forces issues to the surface to be dealt with and lets those who don’t know each other that well (such as my roommate Chris Trella and I) to understand each other a lot better.
Training trip really is something of a ballet of individuals. Swimmers have to be ready to work harder than they ever have, coaches have to prepare a course of work that makes every moment worthwhile to the swimmers involved, and everyone has to work to foster an environment that is both focused while at the same time possessing an almost relaxed air where everyone understands the path they are walking and can work together with those who are helping them walk it.