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Dartmouth Men's Swimming and Diving |  |
Following is an account by Joe Braunreuther ’08 and Neil Willis ‘08
December 9th: Training trip starts with the team stumbling onto the bus at 2 AM. Where’s Gordon Russell ’08? He finally shows up and we’re off for our 2004 winter training trip to Mexico. The team loads up the bus and most pass out only to wake when we stop at Logan Airport in Boston, our take off point for Mexico. We exit the bus in a daze and head into the airport.
A long plane flight to Atlanta at 6 AM isn’t the best way to begin a two week adventure, but we do what we have to. From Atlanta, it was on to Mexico City where we arrive just past 4 PM. After exiting the plane, the team travels on a sweet bus with leg rests and passes out again. We’re just not used to these long trips. ‘Narcoleptic’ sandwiches put everyone to sleep, and not knowing what day it is will do that too. Some stay awake to watch Harry Potter in Spanish.
A large figure with his arms out stretched is the first sight the rejuvenated swimmers see at Oaxtepec, our home for the next ten days. Once we move in, it’s off to check out the pool. The 10 minute walk up hill in central Mexico’s high elevation puts everyone out of breath. A large stalking shadow that Greg Peterson ‘05 thinks is a puma scares him, but it turns out it’s only a small house cat.
After a relaxing 1,000 meter practice, the team eats dinner in a small Mexican restaurant. Everyone gets their fill for $7 US. A hamburger was only $1.50. Shane Foster ‘07 and Kemper Diehl ‘06 order pizza after dinner and Brent Butler ‘07 eats some flat pita-like things. He’s content.
Quote of the day by Mike Hipps: “Spanish ain’t so hard.”
December 10th: The walk up the hill to the pool is brutal at 5:30 AM. Sean Robinson ‘05 thinks he sees two skulking figures hanging around the pool. They turn out to be Coach Jim Wilson and assistant coach Dominic Gillen. We start swimming in the dark. The water’s hot and the practice is surprisingly hard. Most people do some IM free set that’s 4500 meters long course. Total practice is 8500 meters. Sprinters do something easier, naturally. Breakfast is amazing – eggs, beans, fruit, and orange juice (best part). We all have two breakfasts. Actually, Brent has four. The waiters at the restaurant can’t believe we can eat so much. They think it will be a one-day thing, but Noah Zandan ‘05 informs them that we’ll be eating the same amount every meal. John Reidy ‘06 is upset that he isn’t able to pick the menu. We find out later that orange juice will no longer be served at breakfast because Patrick Johnston ‘08 drank too much. Noah starts the sun burn club and OC, Season One, watching. Michael Hipps ‘05 can’t get enough of the OC.
Yale Fillingham ‘06, John, and Joe Braunreuther ‘08 explore Oaxtepec in John’s desperate search for peanut butter. Turns out he can’t find any. The first team meeting is tonight. Yale and Joe get points for good workouts, but it’s just luck. OC episodes four and five….what else do we do?
A newly acquired friend of Brent’s shows up and takes us all to a casino. We learn she is a masterful gambler. Brent ends up being offered up as a bet, but decides to run away on a bike sporting his biker goggles. We go to bed but don’t sleep much, John snores.
Quote of the day by Neil Willis ‘08: “Dude, I just dropped a bomb.”
December
11th: We
start the day out with the infamous ladder set.
A one hundred all the way up to a 1,000 by 100s and then back down by
200s. It’s a total of 9100
meters. Killer!
Everyone finds out who their Secret Santa is.
Dominic gets Jim, too bad for him. We
find out that Jim loves markets, so we take our first trip to Cuernevaca.
Greg barters by saying Wa-Wa-Wee-Wah!
He thinks he knows how to speak Spanish. Obviously not.
A few members of the team decide to try some Mexican cuisine, but not
everyone. Brandon Piper ‘06, Joe,
Sean and Shane Foster ‘07 go to McDonalds instead.
Kemper Diehl ’06 doesn’t play guitar, but some dude offers to sell
him a guitar. The price drops
rapidly after only a few minutes of bartering.
Mike continues to offend the Mexican culture by wearing his newly bought
poncho and sombrero around Cuernavaca with Noah. The day ends with OC episodes
six, seven, and eight.
Quote of the day by Shane: “If I got out of practice right now, would Jim kick me off the team and am I OK with that?”
December 12th: After morning practice, the team goes to Fernando’s uncle’s house. They have two huge pit bulls, a brick wall surrounding the premises, and a draw bridge in the front. Peter Laidlaw ‘07 goes swimming in Fernando’s solar heated pool with the killer dogs. Graig, Sean and Noah take their annual boy band cover photo as well. The hamburgers are awesome. Jim encourages everyone to eat all the food that’s been barbequed, to the point of splitting our sides. This was a true Mexican experience. Everyone gets sunburned.
Nobody wants to go back to workout at Oaxtepec, and John complains the most. Dinner is nothing compared to our lunch. Joe hates Mexican food in general and complains all the time. At the team meeting, Vince, Neil, Shane, and Yale get points. Peter gets a shout out. The conversation of the trip thus far has been about coke and its control on Mexico. Chris Mudd ‘06 is particularly fascinated with this concept. The OC watching continues with episode nine.
Quote of the day by Brent: “Acapulco will be the happy place.”
December
13th: Today,
morning practice was nice and easy – the circuit J.
Neil comments that Joe should stick to distance because he cannot scull
or do running dives.
For the training trip thus far, Brent and Sean have been doing OK, but today, since their shoulders hurt, they started doing all their sets kicking. Jim does not want them to get bored kicking, so he comes up with a great idea to make it interesting - the LADDER. At most pools, the ladder is a tool that helps people get out of the pool. Not in Mexico for Sean and Brent though. The two of them hold the ladder above their heads, one on each side, and do various kicks. By the end of the day, neither can stand up on their own. Little did they know that they’d be kicking all their workouts up until the end of the trip. Such is the plight of those with shoulders that preclude them from swimming.
Afternoon practice is the cabana relays. First place was cabana 58, 2nd 57, 3rd 59, and 4th 60. Chris shows his excitement at the win. Noah is the master at one leg swimming….the opposite of Graig who happens to be a tripod. OC continues with episodes 10, 11, and 12.
By this point, Brandon is addicted to the OC and keeps saying “Run it back!” Some days the OC crew runs it back three or even four times. Raaaage! Today ends with Sean and Neil getting lost on the panther path. We found them.
Quote of the day by Vince: “Kill it Mudd! Kill it!”
December
14th: We
only have morning workout today. An IM set consisting of 3x400 IMs followed by
4x100s stroke (IM Order) four times through.
The sprinters and Yale have a tough set as well.
After practice we get ready to leave for the pyramids.
Our bus driver is crazy; no one can communicate with him.
He won’t drop us off closer to the pyramids because he says he can’t
drive there, but he picks us up there. Weird! The pyramids are made out of a few
stones and a lot of cement. Fernando
told us that the pyramids are fake. The
vendors harass us and Chris is conned into buying an overpriced blanket. John
has a girl hitting on him at the top of the Pyramid of the Sun.
We go to Mexico City after the pyramids. Some people find a special shop and buy secret Santa gifts. There’s a large tourist market by the city library and we all look for gifts to take back home. After that, Jim buys us dinner at a restaurant next to the city park, and some of the team orders a bowl of fiery meat and vegetables. Brent wins the eating prize again, as he goes through three bowls. We find out the next day what toll our gluttony has taken.
Quote of the day by Brent: “I would do anything to get out of AM workout.”
December
15th: John
complains during basketball and Shane sprains his ankle.
Practice is otherwise uneventful. We do a total of 11,300 meters. On a
lighter note, as Sean loses insane amounts of weight, Gordon is putting it on.
It must be all that pizza. The
team can only thank a girl for putting Gordon out of commission.
For the afternoon, we’re off to Cuernavaca again. We hit the market a second time and this trip have a little better knowledge of where to go and what to buy. After the market, we go to a very classy restaurant called Las Manyanitas. Jim threatens to make us pay the bill if we order more than one Coke. The ambiance, augmented by peacocks in the trees, is very enjoyable. There is even some random techno music playing in the background. Sean particularly enjoys “Sandstorm” by DaRude and “Heaven” by DJ Sammy. Vince makes the astute observation that Fernando is probably clubbing somewhere, while we have practice in the morning.
Quote of the day by Joe: “Mexican food sucks, I want some Dominos.”
December 16th: Today starts with a 6100 meter IM practice. With nothing to do in the afternoon, we chill out in our bungalows. Gordon is greatly missed today. The OC continues. Sean is voted the fifth best looking guy on the team. John successfully flies off the 10 meter, flailing his arms and running for the take off definitely gives him an extra second of airtime. Was he scared? Probably not. The team cannot wait to leave Oaxtapec, only a few more days until the “happy place.”
Quote of the day by Gordon at home: “Where’s the beef?”
December 17th: The morning practice is not fun. Every group has a tough descending/hard-easy set that ends up totaling up to 7100 meters. A 3,000-meter afternoon practice – that’s what we want! For the afternoon workout, each group has to average a certain time. John has an especially good workout and ends up going 27s for his 50s, which brought down the group average significantly.
Meals are typical Mexican meals everyday, but we’d kill for a Burger King or Wendy’s. For dinner, there’s some kind of “chicken skin” soup. Let’s put it this way, the Mini Super got a lot of business.
Quote of the day by Peter: “Hey Neil, wanna hit up the mini super?”
December
18th: The
final “morning” in Oaxtapec is a joyous one for the men of Dartmouth
Swimming. A tough ladder/sprint
free set finishes off the first part of the training trip, it’s 5300 meters.
The last meal in Oaxtapec is the popular and quickly consumed eggs with
beans. On the bus to Acapulco the
team enjoys the movie Score starring
Robert DiNero.
While on the bus, Neil can’t control himself, a reoccurring problem on the trip thus far. At one point during the ride, he gets up to use the bathroom and in his rush dislodges his toenail on the bathroom door. Unfortunately for him, the rest of the day is spent walking around. We stop in Taxco on the way to Acapulco. It’s much different than Cuernavaca, a smaller city consisting of one winding road that leads to a plaza at the top. Kemper buys his girlfriend a nice bracelet. Was it real?
Once we arrive in Acapulco it’s pretty late. A few guys go to the “California Grill” which is horrible. Noah, straying from the group, takes a few people to Mama’s Pizza and Hamburgers.
Quote of the day by Patrick: “Look at this sparkling store (when referring to the jewelry store in Taxco). I think Sally would like a necklace.”
December 19th: So today the team found out how polluted the Acapulco air can be. During the morning free/IM set, Jim’s appalled at the poor swimming performance. I don’t think he realizes that pollution has an effect on our lungs.
The day continues with a much easier afternoon practice. Patrick has his computer stolen. Luckily, he was able to get the hotel to pay for it, but he lost a lot of pictures and memories.
So with the first day in Acapulco behind us, Sean’s drops to the number six spot on the team’s best looking list. He really needs to work on his tan. Surprisingly, Chris is number one. He has a great tan. Shane also forgot to call Lauren today, but she calls him.
Quote of the day by John: “And so Cary said …”
December 20th: Everyone wakes in high spirits with the anticipation of catching a marlin, or even just a moderately sized shark, while deep-sea fishing after morning workout. We have a short 2300 meter IM set followed by Brent getting smoked by Yale in a 100 meter 50 breast 50 free race for get out.
After a quick breakfast and our daily heckling of the waitresses, the team files onto the fishing boat. Everyone enjoys the sun and relaxation found on the open ocean, except John who spends the majority of the trip curled up about to boot. The sunburn team brings their A-game this day, but even they readily welcome a quick dip in the water after endless hours of burning and positioning for the perfect angle under the sweltering Mexican sun. In the end, there were no marlins or even moderately sized sharks…I’m pretty sure the driver just circled around that same damn turtle.
Afternoon practice consists of a 7000 meters set followed by a grueling water polo match against the local team. Kemper and Neil were the stars of the game. Dartmouth wins by a final score of 8-3.
At night, Jim and Dominic take us to see the famous cliff divers perform their night show. It’s certainly a unique experience none of us will forget. On the way home Graig, Noah, Neil and Mike board an Acapulco Party Bus and dance the night away to Dido and Coldplay...Mike remains seated the whole time.
Tonight isn’t the only night we’ve seen these buses. True, they run only at night and each has its own theme, ranging in scope from Michael Jackson to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and an accompanying design. The best club on wheels. After riding on one of these buses it becomes clear that time is much more valuable to the drivers than safety. Some of us call them kamikaze buses for their reckless driving, but they can get you across town faster than any other form of transportation. And you could dance too! We all ride on several of the buses during our stay in Acapulco, and each of us has his own favorite.
Quote of the day by captain obvious: “Look at those sea snakes!”
December 21st: This morning workout’s highlighted by the Dartmouth “B” (more like “F”) team getting their heads handed to them by Acapulco’s elementary school girls’ water polo team. This was a very physical game. Joe gets schooled by a 12 year old, but makes up for his lack of water polo skill by hacking the poor girl. At least he’s competitive. Dartmouth barely manages a slim victory……that’s sad.
Damn, the 21st was a good day! In the afternoon, we drive out of town into the resort part of Acapulco. Graig, Mike, Brent, Noah, and Brandon (our basketball all star team) show the local beach team “what’s up” in a game of street ball. We think those five are so tough, but as it turns out they just keep complaining about blisters on their feet for the rest of the trip…lightweights.
After our ocean swim, Jim hires a banana boat to give the team rides. Good work Jim!
After the beach we’re off to Christmas Dinner at a restaurant in the hills overlooking Acapulco named Cayuga 22. What a view! The food is Mexican again, but not bad. I think we’re getting used to it. We all take taxis back to the hotel for our last night’s sleep in Mexico.
No quote today, we’re too tired to talk.
December 22nd: This morning is the dreaded 100x100s set. We start workout at 4:30 AM so we can catch our bus to the airport later in the morning. A group of seniors decides to draft Joe for the entire set, namely Noah, Graig and Mike. Noah decides to take a few “bathroom breaks” as well. The set ends with the seniors swimming the last 100 with little on.
After the set, Brent says goodbye to the girls at 100 % Natural and everyone piles onto the bus. On the bus, the team almost finishes the OC season. Unfortunately, Neil’s computer runs out of batteries before the last episode finishes. We still don’t know what happens in the final episode, but apparently Marissa is a lesbian. Who knew?
The plane ride home through Atlanta is uneventful. Patrick has to stay in Atlanta the night due to his flight home being cancelled. I think it’s safe to say that he had a tough trip – first his computer and then the layover. Sean finally unites with his momma back in Florida – how cute!
We arrive back home safe and sound though, with many memories of our excursion south. The biggest question of the trip still remains though: Where are we going next year?
Quote of the day by Sean: “Mommy!!!!!!!!”