Note: This is NOT a full blog entry. This is just a sample for the FOCUS section of your blog for this week, where you were asked to write your own focus question. You still also need a summary, review, pictures, and sources to have a complete blog entry. My intent here is to show you what I expect from your focus section.
Focus
Focus Question: Compare and contrast the training of theSanta Clara swim team, to the training I did in high school and college.
The most obvious difference between my training, and the training of these men is that swimming was their full time job, so they could devote much more time to it. While in high school and college, swimming was certainly a huge focus of mine, but I also had school and work to attend to as well. For example, in chapter 9, Kurt Grote goes on a long bike ride. This leads me to believe that the men were doing a fair amount of cross training on land to help them stay strong in the water. While I would do weights a few times a week while training, I rarely did any extra cross training on my own. I definitely never went on any long bike rides!
One other difference I notice is how incredibly fast these men are. Mullen describes a pulling set Wilkens was doing: “Wilkens had just completed a fast 3:52 for 400 yards while wearing a tube, but wasn’t happy with it” (167). Three minutes and 52 seconds for 400 yards means he was holding 58 seconds per 100. That is faster than my 500 pace for a race. The fact that he wasn’t happy with a time that I would have been thrilled with shows a major difference.
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| Out for a daily ride |
However, despite the differences, there is one obvious similiarity, and that is our love for the sport. These men dedicated themselvesto a goal, just as I did many times. We all trained hard for it, suffered for it, and ultimately became stronger people because of it.
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| Underwater Shot |
