An Athlete's perspective: Camp
This is the first post in a series about being an athlete on the Colorado Christian University Cross Country team.
Student Athletes at CCU have a unique opportunity; at the beginning of every school year the entire athletic department drives into the mountains for some time with God and one another. This wonderful weekend allows each team to not only bond with each other, but with every other team as well. It also allows for athletes to spend time with God before the busy semester begins.
For CCU XC and Track, this weekend provided a wonderful opportunity to bond and become united as a team. We played lots of games like question Jenga (thanks, Mandee!) and volleyball, and ate as much food as we could get ahold of. Seriously though, coach aptly called us "scavengers" for our constant search for food. Runners eat A LOT of food because we burn so many calories. The poor servers at camp just couldn't keep up with our need to inhale as much food as possible. One night, after the bonfire and s'mores were cancelled, we were able to track down the supply of marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate to eat.
Now that might be a little excessive; we weren't really starving. Fret not parents, your children are being fed and will not go hungry!
In any case, after Athlete's Retreat ended the XC team headed off to Keystone, CO, near Breckenridge for a retreat of our own. We rented three condos there for a couple days of R and R, which stands for "rest" and "running" in this case. That may sound counterintuitive, but I assure you that both can coexist nicely. Each day, we would rise to run and then take ice baths in the nearby river. Afterwards, we would return to find brunch waiting, kindly prepared at the hands of the one-and-only, Kelly Poag. We were in no short supply of food or coffee at XC retreat. We would eat a large brunch every morning, have snacks throughout the day, eat appetizers in the late afternoon, and then enjoy dinner together as the sun set.
Besides running and eating, we enjoyed lots of other activities too, like going for walks, watching the Olympics, having meetings, and, for the girls at least, going through a relaxation session with Kelly. Because Kelly is a counselor, we have made it a point every year to let Kelly give a talk on stress management. After her talk, we all go through a session of Progressive Muscle Relaxation. For me, it is one of the best days of camp.
Since we were so close to Breckenridge, we also were able to go into town one night. My little group explored the shops (one of which had a dog inside that has his own Facebook page, "The Dog Mozzie at Goods." Look him up. Seriously, it looks like an Ewok) and ended the night by eating at the famous crepe stand, Crepe's A La Cart.
After all was said and done, we headed back down the mountain; leaving our little runner dream world behind and stepping into reality. Overall, it was a great kickoff to the start of the 2016 season!
Like the pictures? Follow this link to download them! However, please don't edit or crop them!
Student Athletes at CCU have a unique opportunity; at the beginning of every school year the entire athletic department drives into the mountains for some time with God and one another. This wonderful weekend allows each team to not only bond with each other, but with every other team as well. It also allows for athletes to spend time with God before the busy semester begins.
For CCU XC and Track, this weekend provided a wonderful opportunity to bond and become united as a team. We played lots of games like question Jenga (thanks, Mandee!) and volleyball, and ate as much food as we could get ahold of. Seriously though, coach aptly called us "scavengers" for our constant search for food. Runners eat A LOT of food because we burn so many calories. The poor servers at camp just couldn't keep up with our need to inhale as much food as possible. One night, after the bonfire and s'mores were cancelled, we were able to track down the supply of marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate to eat.
Now that might be a little excessive; we weren't really starving. Fret not parents, your children are being fed and will not go hungry!
In any case, after Athlete's Retreat ended the XC team headed off to Keystone, CO, near Breckenridge for a retreat of our own. We rented three condos there for a couple days of R and R, which stands for "rest" and "running" in this case. That may sound counterintuitive, but I assure you that both can coexist nicely. Each day, we would rise to run and then take ice baths in the nearby river. Afterwards, we would return to find brunch waiting, kindly prepared at the hands of the one-and-only, Kelly Poag. We were in no short supply of food or coffee at XC retreat. We would eat a large brunch every morning, have snacks throughout the day, eat appetizers in the late afternoon, and then enjoy dinner together as the sun set.
Besides running and eating, we enjoyed lots of other activities too, like going for walks, watching the Olympics, having meetings, and, for the girls at least, going through a relaxation session with Kelly. Because Kelly is a counselor, we have made it a point every year to let Kelly give a talk on stress management. After her talk, we all go through a session of Progressive Muscle Relaxation. For me, it is one of the best days of camp.
Since we were so close to Breckenridge, we also were able to go into town one night. My little group explored the shops (one of which had a dog inside that has his own Facebook page, "The Dog Mozzie at Goods." Look him up. Seriously, it looks like an Ewok) and ended the night by eating at the famous crepe stand, Crepe's A La Cart.
After all was said and done, we headed back down the mountain; leaving our little runner dream world behind and stepping into reality. Overall, it was a great kickoff to the start of the 2016 season!
Like the pictures? Follow this link to download them! However, please don't edit or crop them!
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