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/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Hawaii Training Journal: Tom Donker
1/7/2020 10:15:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
The Minnesota swimming program started 2020 off on the right foot, as the team has been in Hawaii since Dec. 31 and will remain on the island until Jan. 15 when they depart for Southern California for a dual against USC.
As Gopher swimmers spend the first two weeks of 2020 training at the University of Hawaii, junior Tom Donker is chronicling the annual trip through a series of journal entries. It has now been one week since Minnesota landed on the island of Oahu, meaning it is time to check in with Donker and the rest of the Maroon and Gold.
Dec. 31, Day One
The spirits are high. Everyone was excited to finally escape the Minnesota cold and feel the warm Hawaiian sun on their skin. We started off the morning bright and early in classic swimmer style, with a light swim to flush our bodies ahead of the long journey that was to come. The bus ride was short, but checking in bags and going through security at the airport took so long. Everyone did their own thing on the flight. Some watched all the movies they could, others slept for as long as they could and some did a bit of both. When we finally landed, everyone had a sigh of relief. We then got our bags, got into our designated vans/SUVs and went straight to our condos. It was already around 5 p.m. when we got there, so we went grocery shopping with our respective vans and then everyone pretty much went to sleep as the time difference made our day super long.
Jan. 1, Day Two
Happy New Year! We started off the decade with a nice practice that involved a little bit of everything: kicking, pulling, swimming and some lovely underwater work. It was a nice way to get the flight out of our system. It was also the only practice of the day, so after it we went back to the condos, made some lunch and then headed to Electric Beach. The waves were pumping as we got there, so a big group of us decided to head out into the ocean. Getting out there was difficult as the current was pushing us to the left and the power of the waves was no joke. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun. After the swim, a couple men on the team decided to play with a boomerang one of us brought along. Some were good at it, others were not. After about two hours at the beach, it was time to head back. Everyone was pretty exhausted from the whole day, as we usually are, so when we got back people either went to their condos to make dinner or they ate out. Overall, a solid first full day in Honolulu.
Jan. 2, Day Three
We started off the day with a solid kick set for the A.M. practice. It was a mix of aerobic kicking, fast kicking and underwaters, so the legs were feeling it. We started our lifting and dryland programs today as well. The group was split in two, a maroon team and a gold one, so that we could alternate which days we lifted and did dryland. The Maroon team started with a lift before the A.M. practice and gold did a dryland workout before we started the P.M. workout. The P.M. workout was a power set, where we focus on being explosive with our strokes while maintaining the good details in order to swim efficiently. This was the first day where we had a triple practice, so everyone was pretty tired afterwards. When we got back the focus was on getting food and then heading straight to bed. Solid day in the office.
Jan. 3, Day Four
Our first practice of the day was a lift. Our lifts are generally focused on leg work and upper body maintenance, but it's still enough to make you sore. Right after lift, we jumped into the pool for the second (first swim) practice. This was an aerobic freestyle set, followed by an aerobic primary set. This allowed people to dig into their aerobic bases and then bring in some speed at the end of the set. Between practices, people generally split into groups and either go to the beach, to the roof (there's a pool there) or stay in their rooms. A couple of the men decided to play some Spikeball (essentially another workout for the day). The night practice was recovery, as the next day we would have two very hectic practices. Everyone was in bed early to prepare for that.
Jan. 4, Day Five
What a way to kick off the day! We started off with a stand-up practice where we did 8 x 175s all out where you had to hit your goal time for the 200. We got a lot of rest between reps and could swim out as well in order to get the most out of each effort. We then all recovered in between practices, as we had dryland first and then another hard quality practice. The dry land included a lot of crawling in order to activate our legs, arms and core all together. We then swiftly jumped into the water to do 60 x 25s where 20 of them were all out, trying to hit our goals for 100 split time. Everyone had a sigh of relief when we finally finished, as the next day was our first day without a practice. North Shore, here we come!
Jan. 5, Day Six
What a day! Having a day off alone is always a treat, but to be in Hawaii for it makes it so much sweeter. All the vans left promptly at 8 a.m. to get to Kono's, a popular breakfast destination on the North Shore. After fueling up on breakfast burritos and milkshakes, we headed to Waimea Bay for some beach time. The waves were pretty average (about two feet at the biggest) which was a letdown for the North Shore (previous years the waves were three times as big). The time at the beach was spent between swimming, tanning and playing Spikeball. As we are all Division I collegiate student-athletes, the Spikeball games got really competitive. At noon, some vans headed straight for the Dole Plantation (where the majority of the pineapples are grown) and others headed to Pipeline (where one of the biggest, cleanest waves breaks in the world). Once everyone was back from their adventures, a couple of us hiked up Diamond Head to see the sunset. It was a short hike, but so worth it as the view was breathtaking. To end the day, we had dinner at the Rainbow Drive Through and then headed home to jump right into bed. What an absolute treat of a day!
As Gopher swimmers spend the first two weeks of 2020 training at the University of Hawaii, junior Tom Donker is chronicling the annual trip through a series of journal entries. It has now been one week since Minnesota landed on the island of Oahu, meaning it is time to check in with Donker and the rest of the Maroon and Gold.
Dec. 31, Day One
The spirits are high. Everyone was excited to finally escape the Minnesota cold and feel the warm Hawaiian sun on their skin. We started off the morning bright and early in classic swimmer style, with a light swim to flush our bodies ahead of the long journey that was to come. The bus ride was short, but checking in bags and going through security at the airport took so long. Everyone did their own thing on the flight. Some watched all the movies they could, others slept for as long as they could and some did a bit of both. When we finally landed, everyone had a sigh of relief. We then got our bags, got into our designated vans/SUVs and went straight to our condos. It was already around 5 p.m. when we got there, so we went grocery shopping with our respective vans and then everyone pretty much went to sleep as the time difference made our day super long.
Jan. 1, Day Two
Happy New Year! We started off the decade with a nice practice that involved a little bit of everything: kicking, pulling, swimming and some lovely underwater work. It was a nice way to get the flight out of our system. It was also the only practice of the day, so after it we went back to the condos, made some lunch and then headed to Electric Beach. The waves were pumping as we got there, so a big group of us decided to head out into the ocean. Getting out there was difficult as the current was pushing us to the left and the power of the waves was no joke. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun. After the swim, a couple men on the team decided to play with a boomerang one of us brought along. Some were good at it, others were not. After about two hours at the beach, it was time to head back. Everyone was pretty exhausted from the whole day, as we usually are, so when we got back people either went to their condos to make dinner or they ate out. Overall, a solid first full day in Honolulu.
Jan. 2, Day Three
We started off the day with a solid kick set for the A.M. practice. It was a mix of aerobic kicking, fast kicking and underwaters, so the legs were feeling it. We started our lifting and dryland programs today as well. The group was split in two, a maroon team and a gold one, so that we could alternate which days we lifted and did dryland. The Maroon team started with a lift before the A.M. practice and gold did a dryland workout before we started the P.M. workout. The P.M. workout was a power set, where we focus on being explosive with our strokes while maintaining the good details in order to swim efficiently. This was the first day where we had a triple practice, so everyone was pretty tired afterwards. When we got back the focus was on getting food and then heading straight to bed. Solid day in the office.
Jan. 3, Day Four
Our first practice of the day was a lift. Our lifts are generally focused on leg work and upper body maintenance, but it's still enough to make you sore. Right after lift, we jumped into the pool for the second (first swim) practice. This was an aerobic freestyle set, followed by an aerobic primary set. This allowed people to dig into their aerobic bases and then bring in some speed at the end of the set. Between practices, people generally split into groups and either go to the beach, to the roof (there's a pool there) or stay in their rooms. A couple of the men decided to play some Spikeball (essentially another workout for the day). The night practice was recovery, as the next day we would have two very hectic practices. Everyone was in bed early to prepare for that.
Jan. 4, Day Five
What a way to kick off the day! We started off with a stand-up practice where we did 8 x 175s all out where you had to hit your goal time for the 200. We got a lot of rest between reps and could swim out as well in order to get the most out of each effort. We then all recovered in between practices, as we had dryland first and then another hard quality practice. The dry land included a lot of crawling in order to activate our legs, arms and core all together. We then swiftly jumped into the water to do 60 x 25s where 20 of them were all out, trying to hit our goals for 100 split time. Everyone had a sigh of relief when we finally finished, as the next day was our first day without a practice. North Shore, here we come!
Jan. 5, Day Six
What a day! Having a day off alone is always a treat, but to be in Hawaii for it makes it so much sweeter. All the vans left promptly at 8 a.m. to get to Kono's, a popular breakfast destination on the North Shore. After fueling up on breakfast burritos and milkshakes, we headed to Waimea Bay for some beach time. The waves were pretty average (about two feet at the biggest) which was a letdown for the North Shore (previous years the waves were three times as big). The time at the beach was spent between swimming, tanning and playing Spikeball. As we are all Division I collegiate student-athletes, the Spikeball games got really competitive. At noon, some vans headed straight for the Dole Plantation (where the majority of the pineapples are grown) and others headed to Pipeline (where one of the biggest, cleanest waves breaks in the world). Once everyone was back from their adventures, a couple of us hiked up Diamond Head to see the sunset. It was a short hike, but so worth it as the view was breathtaking. To end the day, we had dinner at the Rainbow Drive Through and then headed home to jump right into bed. What an absolute treat of a day!
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