University of Richmond Athletics
Jessie Krebs' Training Trip Blog: Day 1
12/31/2012 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Editor's Note: Junior Jessie Krebs will chronicle her time with Spider Swim & Dive on the team's winter training trip to Sarasota, Fla., this December and January. Below is her first blog entry of the trip.
December 30th, 2012- Welcome To The Training Trip
On December 30th, 2012, Spider swimmers invade various airports across the country headed for a single destination. We receive stares from other travelers as we stuff our Speedo backpacks into the overhead compartments and peel off our parka jackets. In our big coats, we probably look like we're headed to Vail for a skiing excursion. But no, we are actually going to Sarasota, Florida.
Each year, our team convenes in sunny Sarasota for training trip. We train outdoors at the Sarasota YMCA and stay in condos by the beautiful Siesta Key beach. Why do we relocate to Sarasota for a week, you might ask? Well, there are many reasons.
- Different training environment: People often ask me how swimmers manage to stare at a line on the bottom of the pool for hours each day-do we get bored? Well, by switching up our training environment, we are able to stare at a different line. And in Sarasota, the sun is glowing down on this line! It may sound crazy that a simple change of scenery can benefit our training, but when you spend 3-4 hours a day swimming back and forth in the same pool, this change is fantastic.
- Crucial workouts: We are about two months away from our championship meet, and our practices during this time of year are crucial. While our workouts during this trip will be challenging, doing them in the beautiful Florida weather makes the experience more enjoyable.
- Long course training: Another big bonus for our team is that we are able to train in a long course pool. In the mornings, the pool will be 50 meters long, but at night (with the help of some shifted lane lines) the pool will be converted to 25-yard lanes. While our championship meet will be in a yards pool, long course training is great for our endurance. Since we do not have a long course pool at school, this is a fantastic opportunity for us.
- Team bonding: One last reason is team bonding. We will stay in condos with three other teammates where we will work together to cook meals, keep our living space tidy, make sure we are stocked with necessary goods like toilet paper, etc. Oh, and of course we will be very silly.
I will be reporting to you throughout the week, doing my best to capture some of the highlights of our trip. As for today, we are still waiting for a few of our teammates to arrive and then we will go grocery shopping. We will have our first practice of the trip tomorrow morning and then we will train again in the afternoon. Tune in for the rest of the week to hear about the trip-once things get going there will be plenty of stories to share! I am personally very excited to experience Travis' superb van driving skills once again. LET TRAINING TRIP 2012-2013 BEGIN!
Players Mentioned
