Staging Camps

Staging Camps:

We left Canada on Aug 22 and were in the pool within 15 hours of leaving Canada. The first swim is on September 6. Why did we choose to leave so early?

The first consideration is adjustment to time change. Conventional wisdom suggests 1 hour of adaptation for each time zone, with this team no chances are being taken and so far adjustment has occurred in about 6 days. This will allow for a last burst of training before the final days of taper. That is the fine art of maintaining fitness and strength, swimming reduced distances in the hope of maximizing speed on race day.

There was an option to travel to Singapore and stay in a superb facility which had a 50 M pool, gym and hotel quarters on sight. The negatives were a 4 hour longer journey, and a warmer moister climate.

We are staying in the Osaka Baytowers, a 4 star hotel. The team is split between the 41st and 43rd floors (there is no 42nd floor on the elevator buttons!). We are 1 stop away from the Osaka pool, the hotel is right on the transit line, and it is very convenient. All of our meals are eaten together, buffet style in the hotel. This allows for easy communication and socialization.The top picture shows the panoramic view from our floor

What is different with this camp is how the coaches are being proactive in taking the swimmers in their groups on outings. This allows for much more flexibility and more frequent trips. In the past it had been up to the team manager to order a bus and take a day or 1/2 day for outings. This could be disruptive to individual training plans. Now the coaches can decide in advance how best to use down time. The concept of letting the swimmers be idle for too long has been rejected. They are now more balanced, experiencing the city and it’s sights and I think are more focused in the pool.The second photo shows a typical Osaka city scene.

In Osaka there is a lot to do. So far groups have visited Universal Studios, the Castle, the aquarium, the shopping districts and museums. On Saturday many of us are going to see the Giants play. Baseball is big here and the 40,000-seat stadium is 1 stop away.

In the pool Donovan has done well. He has shown no stress from travel and we have embarked on some tough sets, which he has handled well. S11 swimming is tough, there is the constant need to trust tappers and when training with others to remain on your side of the lane. Donovan maintains his
direction by dragging his fingertips across the lane ropes. You can see in this picture that there is wear and tear on his hands! We have tried in this camp to protect him; this latest solution needs improvement but has had some effect. Today we used nuskin, bandages, tape all covered with finger condoms. The bandages are not waterproof, we may end up using a “made in Canada’ solution…. duck tape!