Swimming: Individual athletes, Team sport

Hi everyone, hope you're enjoying your sunny Sunday :)

This morning we had our "Mini meet" during swim practice. Like I mentioned in the last post, we used this as an opportunity to practice our racing strategies, and to test our body strength and endurance. Waking up in the morning and racing top-speed is easier said than done. At major swim meets, being able to swim fast in the morning preliminary races ensures a swimmer's entry into the evening finals and a middle lane to race in. It is so critical that proper warm-ups are done, and swimmers are mentally and physically pumped up to race. The team took this morning's races seriously and got an idea of how they're doing at this stage of training. We're also very fortunate to have Stefan Mader (former CIS qualifier and Trinidad & Tobago National Team swimmer) working with us on technique and race strategies.

This morning, and during other swim practices, I can't help but to notice how supportive our team is. Swimming is a funny sport... we are all individuals focused on our own events, yet it would be near impossible to train and compete at this level without the support of a team. To be honest, I don't think I would survive a single 6am swim practice if I were to swim alone, as an "individual athlete".
Bear with me as I let my nerdy side out for a minute... In terms of nutrition, just because you eat lots of carbohydrates does not necessarily mean you will get lots of energy. Micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) act as enzymes to allow chemical reactions to happen and therefore release energy from carbs. Without these vitamins and minerals, reactions would happen slowly or not at all. The point I'm trying to make is 1) eat your fruits and veggies and 2) teammates are like micronutrient enzymes. Just like carbs need enzymes, an individual swimmer needs his/her teammates to succeed.
The support that members of this team show for each other is overwhelming. Any time a swimmer is racing or somebody is having a tough time in practice, you can count on a teammate cheering you on. We all look out for each other's well-being, in and out of the pool, and I believe this is the secret to team success.

This week, the momentum will continue to build as we get closer to our championship meet. This coming weekend, UNB swimming will once again show stamina and guts as we race at UPEI during a time of heavy training.

I'll be sure to highlight results from the UPEI swim meet in next week's blog post. Thank you for reading and make sure to share this with your friends!

Make it a wonderful week!
Natalie