Diary

Brian
Seymour

Past Entries

January 12, 2004

We're on our last leg of winter training, thank goodness. The team got back into Atlanta late Sunday night and we started the last cycle of a rigorous training program Monday morning.

Most of the team hitched a ride with Doug "Young Blood," the bus driver, but those who couldn't fit drove their own cars or rode with friends home from our meet with the University of Tampa on Sunday. Despite near-freezing temperatures and overcast skies on Saturday night, the meet was a success, with the men victorious for the first time since my freshman year (a nice way to bring everything full circle).

The gods must have been smiling on us because the unseen sky of the night before became a cloudless, blue masterpiece on Sunday with temperatures eventually reaching the mid 60s. Enough about the meet though, that's just a small finale to the excitement of winter training.

For me, this year's training began on December 29, when Shea Loper and Jeff Klug and David Hiller, three of the previous season's graduates, came to town in anticipation of the New Year. It was great seeing all those guys again and we all had a smashing good time on New Year's Eve together.

On the second of January, however, all of that fun came to an end when we (that is the rest of the team and myself) hit the road for the luxurious Royal Flamingo Villas in fabulous Boca Raton, Florida.

While in Boca, we had many difficult workouts. In some ways this was the hardest Florida training trip I can remember, but it's all good because the hard work will pay off immensely come UAAs and NCAAs.

Between the hard sets and long runs, we spent a lot of time on the beach. I always enjoy coming back to school after Florida training because the team is so tan and buff, we're definitely the best looking people on campus.

This year I had the pleasure and good fortune of learning to surf on the couple of afternoons we had off. The surf was uncommonly large and a couple freshmen, Pat Mulligan and Ted Hamilton, showed me the ropes on Pat's boards. Of course those who didn't want to learn to surf enjoyed the best weather we've had since I've been around (so watch out freshmen, you've been spoiled).

It was a bittersweet trip back to Atlanta, knowing that I'll never again experience the fun and hard work that make winter training so wonderful. The car ride gave me an opportunity to reflect on this season and all the seasons past.

I guess it's true that all good things must come to an end. For now, I (as well as the rest of the team) have to focus on the second half of the season. Now is when things start to get fun, and if winter training is any indicator of what the championship season will be like, it should be a great one this year.

Brian Seymour is a senior from Pittsburgh. He would love to answer e-mail questions from Emory recruits and fans.