A loud and wild thunderstorm woke everyone up at 6am, but quickly passed through. Although some slept through it, most watched the lightening show from their beds. Morning run was moved into the gym, but by 9:00am it had stopped raining and the sun was out.
On tap first was Circuit Training. Sixteen stations, 30 seconds on, then 30 seconds rest. Three times through. What a site to see as 10 groups of four campers plus a coach worked their way in unison through pushups, core, tricep dips, tuck jumps and more. The music was blaring and the sweat was dripping.
Then we had our last round of cooking, climbing and activities. The kids on the field chose Swedish dodge ball as their activity. The chefs prepared Black Bean Brownies while the climbers assaulted the rock wall. Libby, Demi and Lainey all reached the top of the left wall, which requires a “dyno” move to reach the overhang. Way to go!
Following our post lunch discussion on Sports Nutrition, it was Physical Testing time. Since the athletes are so tired from the previous 4 days, the results probably do not reflect their actual ability, but it is a fun way to get a sense of their strength. We measured situps, pushups, broad jump, vertical jump, 40 yrd dash and flexibility.
Next it was choice time. Of course it began to rain, but we had a group head out to the ropes course anyway. And guess what, the sun broke through and the skies cleared. On Haleigh’s Hit element, we had 3 breakthroughs. Christina, Demi and Michael were all able to jump and grab the ball and, incredibly, hold onto it. There they were, smiling at 20 feet up, swinging to and fro.
Up on the field, it was a plethora of crazy games… big booty, dodge ball, wall ball and soccer.
The real favorite, however, was the smoothie station. The athletes could make their own smoothies, choosing between a selection of fruits, juices and yogurt, with the option of adding in some more unusual options like peanut butter, tofu, flaxseed, and cocoa powder. Ian, feeling brave and adventurous (and with a little coaxing from the coaches) added in a decent amount of tofu, which most of the other campers refused outright. Ian seemed pleased with his concoction, and most of the other creations were refreshing and delicious as well. A few, however, had to be poured down the drain.
Tonight was Hawaiian theme night, so the campers came to dinner dressed in leis, grass skirts, and very colorful shirts. The limbo contest was intense with Matt and Rachael taking top honors. Then it was the “pig race”, and it was complete chaos. Lots of pigs (balloons) popped and the slight wind factor caused havoc. The two Bens emerged as victors. Then came movie time, with Hoosiers as the film.
Tomorrow promises to be a great day. A hike up MRG in the morning and the Sandpit SL in the afternoon. Olympian Jimmy Cochran will be stopping by again this week to speak to the athletes and join us for a few runs at the Sandpit.
Until tomorrow, Aloha!
