Cookies. Pies. Hot cocoa. Holiday feasts. Cozy fires.

Not much about the three-week break from classes inspires the Grand Valley State track and field student-athletes to continue training as they would during school. But to achieve the excellence GVSU athletics demands, the Lakers must find ways to stay in shape.

Motivation is key in determining how much work individuals are willing to put in. Sophomore sprinter Angie Ritter acknowledged the temptation to relax while on break.

“There’s all the delicious food sitting around and you just want to eat it,” she said. “It’s Christmas. It’s cozy and you just want to lay around.”

Senior 800-meter star Ethan Barnes rarely listens to music while he runs. But with no one else around to run with, Barnes is forced to seek alternative methods to keep his mind engaged.

“Those 90-minute long runs are pretty boring by yourself,” he said. “My iPod keeps me company during break.”

Barnes only lives about 45 minutes from GVSU’s Allendale Campus, so he was able to come back to do several workouts in the Kelly Family Sports Center.

“The atmosphere at home is not the same as at practice or during an average school day,” he said. “We are expected to continue training at the same rate as during the year. During the year we have such great resources and facilities. It is easy to lift, stretch and do drills in the turf building because it is right there and we are required to be there. When I’m at home, finding space for these things is much tougher.”

Maintaining the same training environment is beneficial to the student-athletes, but for those who live far away from GVSU, it’s just not plausible during break. Senior thrower Darien Thornton only went home for the few days between Christmas and the new year in order to stay at GVSU for as long as possible.

“Staying around is probably the most beneficial thing you can do so you can continue to get great training in the same atmosphere you will train in all year,” he said. “The older I get, the longer I stay at Grand Valley during breaks.”

The GVSU coaching staff expects the student-athletes to continue training as they would while classes are in session. Barnes checked in with his coaches every few days to let them know how his training was going, but he still had to find a way to self-discipline without the coaches around.

“I try to plan at least one to three days in advance exactly when I will do things,” he said. “With it getting dark around 5, planning for a run is key. Otherwise, the day suddenly slips by and you’ve forgotten to run. Putting a run off for the next day completely changes your schedule. You can’t really make up that lost day.”

Barnes, Ritter, Thornton and many other Lakers have found ways to stay motivated and in top form throughout the break. However, there are always some who choose not to put in the work and fall prey to the temptation to relax.

“Every winter break separates the group into two sections; people that did the work over break and people that didn’t,” Barnes said. “We jump right into the season, so if you are behind now, it’s tough to catch back up. It is very obvious who put in the work over break and who didn’t.”

Ritter is motivated by the fear of looking out of shape during practice.

“Over break it’s tough finding time and energy to practice, but you just think of how awful practice will be when you come back out of shape and it kind of just motivates you,” she said. “You don’t want to be the one in the corner puking.”

GVSU will host the Bob Eubanks Open in the Kelly Family Sports Center on Jan. 15, four days after classes begin. With GVSU’s most recent action being over a month ago, the margin for error is much more slim.

“I always like the Holiday Open because it is so early,” Barnes said. “It’s like a free chance to try and do as good as you can before the season really gets going. Now, as we enter into January, that free chance is not available. This is the time to do the work that is required to get to nationals and conference.”

From here on out, the quest is to score high enough marks to qualify for conference and national meets. The post-break approach is much more focused.

“We have to be focused every meet and take advantage of every opportunity that we have to get a qualifying mark for nationals or conference,” Thornton said. “Everyone’s mentality should be this for every meet they compete at.”