Jan. 7, 2010

The South Carolina track and field team annually heads down to Orlando, Fla., for a week of preseason training before competing against Denison University in a friendly exhibition. The team trains vigorously throughout the week before getting a chance to enjoy the Disney theme parks as a climax to the University’s winter break. Various members of the team will check in daily with GamecocksOnline.com about the everyday happenings with the sprinters, hurdlers, distance runners, throwers, pole vaulters and multi-event athletes.

Senior multi-event athlete Scott Pierce, 2009 SEC bronze medalist in the heptathlon, writes about Wednesday’s practice.

The Orlando trip is supposed to be warm. Today was colder than….well it was cold. Which means that somehow warming up for practice took on a survival angle. Because I’m the “distance multi,” Coach Frye asked me to run the 15-minute jog twice as fast – and twice as fast is twice as hard when your toes feel like icicles.

Eddie Stoudemire and I, Eddie being my multi-brother, did discus work this morning and practiced scaring the “bejesus” out of the nearby pole vaulters due to the fact that the nets for the discus cage were tied up and we couldn’t feel our fingers. Then we got our lift on in the gym before coming back to hang out at the hotel for a couple hours and tried to not feel exhausted before the not quite as freezing afternoon practice.

After warming up, slower this time, the multi’s and high jumpers did high jump work. Slightly less cold this time, we jumped pretty well before coming back to the hotel and eventually had a wonderful (read: interesting) team meeting with Coach Frye.

Here’s to a good second half of the week!