Training Trip Day Three

Did you know on average, men take 7192 steps per day and women take about 5210 steps per day? In other words, you can think of it more as 2000 steps equaling one mile and 10000 steps is close to equaling 5 miles. (Remember this. This will be important later on.) Today was our third day in Puerto Rico PEOPLE. (Exciting right?) Our day had started like every other morning since we have been here which was waking up around 9am and going straight to breakfast. Before you think we have started a routine, we decided to spice it up a little bit. Instead of the whole team going down to the beach to do their work out, Matt, Amber *dive coach*, and I took a taxi down to San Juan for diving practice. After us three were finished, we took a taxi to the beach that the rest of the team was supposedly suppose to be at. After many phone calls and asking whether or not they or we could see a certain landmark, we all made our way to a small public beach. We snorkeled, lay out and got some sun, took some underwater pictures with Sam’s camera, and basically had a relaxed day. Just when you think it couldn’t have gotten any better, Jordan *assistant coach*, thought it would be a spectacular idea to walk to the Boat that would take us back to our side of the island. Let me leave you with this little side note here; this boat wasn’t exactly close. It was a good 2 mile walk. (I hope ya’ll are good at math because that’s another 4000 in so steps that needs to be added on to the average steps a person takes in a day. Not including all of the walking it took to find each other in the beginning of the day. Just so you all know.) It just gave Jordan an even better excuse to be our personal tour guide. He carried around this little pamphlet that had the map of the island on it and every monument and building we passed; you better believe we heard about it. As we got to the boat with all of the new and exciting information flowing into our brains (hahaha), half of us boarded the boat and the other half stayed behind and ate dinner. Tonight has surely been one of the most relaxed nights that we have had since we have been here. All of us now are sitting in our rooms, on our computers, and just hanging out as a team and as friends. These past days have been more than a vacation to most; it’s also been a great learning experience. Not only are we learning about Puerto Rico in itself but we’re learning about each other. This has been such a great bonding experience for not only us but the coaches too.
 
 
 

Training Trip Day Two

Hieeyyyyy. Well, this is the second day of our Puerto Rico excursion. The girls, as usual, slept in as long as we could. (Which was only till about 9 am but we were woken up with the guys banging on our door to tell us about breakfast.) When finished, we grabbed our suites and running shoes and headed to the beach. We ran not only to the little green hut but across the street to the beach where we stared our first actual swim practice. Once we got there, it seemed like a monsoon had hit. The wind was blowing, the rain was pouring, and we were getting drenched. Not five minutes later, the sun was pounding on our backs and it was time for us to practice. It was called the “Hawaii Workout.” We had to do a certain drill about 50 meters and then sprint back. We ended with a short amount of breaths and empty water bottles. You would think that would have been the end of that workout but we soon found out there was more. The swimmers had to start from the lifeguard post and run into the ocean and swim to the buoy and back. They did this about 4 times while I sat in the crashing zone of the waves and did abs. We took a poll and Mike won the daily challenge. He was basically the shinning athlete and proved it by working hard and pushing through the pain. After our first workout, we went back to our rooms and hung out. We were told to figure out a talent for our talent show we were putting on. (Don’t worry, it wasn’t as bad as it seems.) Sam told corny pick-up lines, Keegan was able to make his eyebrows move up and down, (it was pretty interesting, Tyler reenacted his three sides; gay, straight, and black gangster, Sawyer was Sawyer; showing off how good looking he was, Matt showed everyone the Waltz and Tango, while I showed the team all of the cool tricks I could do with my tongue. Mike, Mike decided he was going to dance but ended it by falling down the dirt mound he was standing on. (It defiantly lightened up the mood.)  The day ended just like it started; Amazing. Puerto Rico has brought us closer as a team and as friends. We have learned our limits and have pushed through our fears. These past two days have brought each and every one of us new memories and tons of pictures. Two days down and seven more to go. J

Second day Impressions
Sawyer- “I enjoyed working out in the ocean and there is nothing more stress reliving than being on the beach… I may not come home.”
Mick- “The tacos across the street were amazing.”
 
 

Training Trip Day One

Hello Parents’/ Guardians/ Friends/ Family/ Peers/ Ya’ll. This is Emalee Buchholz. I am the Diver on the Iowa Lakes Swimming and Diving Team and I just wanted to let you all know what the team has done today. To start out, today we woke up at around 9 am which to me, Mick, and Keegan, it was 6 am and to the rest of the team; Mike, Tyler, Sam, Sawyer, Matt, it was 7am. We ate down stairs at the breakfast buffet and come to think of it, it was pretty delicious. They had these Mexican eggs and bacon that were very good; perfect and crispy. J But, we didn’t have your usual 2 hour break between breakfast and workouts; it was more like 2 minutes. We all walked down to the beach (right across the street from our hotel) and found out that we were to run to this little green hut that looking from the beach, looked about 3 miles away. The team and I expected to run on the side of the beach next to the water to get to our little destination with no trouble, but we soon found out we had to maneuver our way through rocks, trees, coconuts, and bamboo. Most of the team thought of it as a hike more than a warm-up jog. When finishing our run, we all went back to our rooms and got our bathing suites on and hit the Puerto Rican roads. We walked to Burger king to get a quick bite to eat. (You would think we would go somewhere a little bit more traditional to Puerto Ricans but when the boys want a cheeseburger, there is no stopping them.) After we got our food fix, we wandered aimlessly looking for the beach. It didn’t take long till the boys started ‘Bay Watching’ down the sand. As a team, we played chicken in the water, made sandcastles on the beach, learned a little bit of Spanish, and got some sun. (Some of us got a little bit more sun than others; good thing they made Aloe.) After our little beach break, we learned the salsa, the tango, and the waltz. (Thanks to Matt) Our first day was better than what any of us could have imagined.

First day ImpressionsJ
Keegan- “Festive and laid back.”
Sam- “Paradise.”

Taking the Plunge

The Iowa Lakes Men’s and Women’s swim team took part in the annual Okoboji winter games polar Plunge.

Nationals Here We Come!!!!!!

As Iowa lakes  Swimming and Diving approaches the end of our restricted season, we had our first big meet at the University of Chicago, and have returned home with some great news. This past weekend we qualified 2 individuals one male and one female for NJCAA Nationals. Also, our men’s 200 free relay missed the national qualifying time by .01 seconds.  it is our hope that we will make this qualifying time and our conference meet on February 18^th and 19^th.  

We bleed Blue.....First Annual Blue V. Gold Meet

I hope that everyone had a good and safe Thanksgiving! I know that our team enjoyed some time away from classes and time with family and friends. We are now focusing on that last big push till exams and the end of the semester.

The time has come however to the first annual blue v. Gold meet. As we have a few athletes whom will not be able attend due to class conflicts and field trips even I will be participating in the meet. I'm not sure what is more exciting the fact that it is out first meet or that Evey race will be setting pool records! As long as the weather holds out we should have some results for you all next week.

First Meet Canclled

After a few weeks of hard work the team was supposed to compete in the Morningside Invite in Sioux City Iowa. However, do to 14 inches of isolated snow in the 5 county area we were unable to attend the meet.

Further information on the team seeing as we have not been the best at updating our blog..... we are well underway to updating and constructing the aquatic center facilities. As of last week our swimmer and diver only weight room was approved and will be starting building renovation in January. For our divers out their this means that we will hopefully be able to utilize a dry board.