Today was another beautiful day in sunny Florida. The day started out pretty much the same as all the others. One nice thing is that it is getting warmer and warmer each morning. This morning we did dryland before practice. Instead of going inside like other mornings to escape the cold, today we stayed outside for the first time this trip. The workout this morning for the mid-distance and the distance group was a long aerobic one. The sprinters did a one-hundreds set that everyone was talking about. I heard a few people talking about how fast they were going. Then I heard that Bryce went a 51 from a push at the end of the set.
Training trip usually brings about swims that you don’t see at a normal practice. Last year I remember Zach and Steve going 2:17 in the 200 breaststroke in the middle of practice. Last night Paul was doing a 200’s set with Pelka and he went 1:52 from a push in the middle of their set. These swims are proof that as a team, the level of our training has definitely been elevated to another level on this trip.
After the morning it was back to the hotel to finish up what was left of the complementary breakfast. Since it was another nice day, a bunch of us headed out to the beach again after breakfast. Today we went to a different beach about a mile and a half from Venice beach. After a few minutes someone suggested that we walk down to Venice beach since there wasn’t much going on where we were. When someone promised that there would be girls at the other beach it didn’t take much convincing. After about a twenty minute walk we made it to the other beach and much to our dismay, the only girls on the beach were old enough to be my grandma. This prompted a few of the guys to make their own girl out of sand. It started out by burying Chris Varner. A few minutes later Steenrod and Bax were cuddling with their creation. The rest of the day at the beach consisted of digging tunnels and soaking up the Florida sun.After coming back from the beach we had just enough time to get a quick nap in and a bite to eat. Afternoon practice for the mid-distance and distance group was one that is full of tradition. It was “The Fly Set” day. It was nine 200s. They start out as a 200 free. Then next one you subtract a 25 free and add 25 fly or another stroke. You do this until you do the whole 200 fly or the stroke you were doing. The goal is to hold your pace or get faster throughout the set. This year Pelka, Tom, Ben and I did the set fly. The set was pretty hard. To add insult to injury, about half way through I looked over at the sprinters and they were working on their turns.
Well it is about time for bed. Tomorrow we have a big day. The University of Cincinnati is coming up from Naples to try and match our biathlon abilities. It should fun. See you later.