BMC "Team Bonding"

The second running camp during the month of August was with the BMC runners. After Spartan running camp, I scrambled to get my CDL, make plans, grocery shop, and gather tents and supplies for a camping trip to the Smoky Mountains.

We took a trip to Gatlinburg, TN with the intention of creating team unity. The trip was good in many ways. The weather was great, the scenery was beautiful, and a few of the runners really appreciated the work, expense, and good intentions behind the trip.

We stayed at Jellystone Campground, which was the same place our family stayed last Thanksgiving. The campground connects to the Smoky Mountain National Park, and many of our runs began with a direct ascent up the mountain!

Our campsites were right beside the stream running through the campground. The stream was a great way to cool off after a run!
We had 3 tents plus a food tent. Our breakfasts and lunches were very simple and from the cooler, and dinners were cooked in crock pots.

The day of utter exhaustion included a long run on the mountain and a hike that went from 8 miles to 13... The bus couldn't drive all the way up to the trail head, and so we hitched a ride in the back of a truck. On our way down, we walked several extra miles before coming to a car willing to take us to the bus. Taking a break on the way down

The hike was worth it (in my opinion), because the view at the top was amazing... The old growth forest and waterfall were breathtaking!

Literally breathtaking, if you stood under the waterfall!! That water was COLD!

We also got to take a whitewater rafting trip! Although several runners were nervous, it was a fun day and everyone really enjoyed this part of the trip.

I learned on this trip that coaching at the college level is different from my group of Spartans. I had hoped that the trip would bring the team together and get everyone excited about the upcoming season in the same way that camp had seemed to help the Spartans. I am afraid that this trip just wore everyone out, sent the freshmen into shock, and united quite a few runners against me. I am not sure if we will be taking another team bonding trip! However, there were some encouraging things about the trip. I love the mountains, I love tent camping, and it was great to see some spiritual maturity from some of the runners!

Spartan Camp

In August, two of the four weeks were spent doing running camps. The first was Spartan running camp, held in Shelby Forest State Park in Millington, TN. The Spartans rented out a group camp facility and split the week... boys the first half and girls the second half.

The group camp was perfect... except for the fact that the cabins had no air conditioning! The boys started out the week sleeping in cabins, but the heat index was up over 110 most of the time... This made for rather uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, so everyone carried their mattresses to the lodge for a giant slumber party! Sleeping in the air was much nicer... but there was a demon ice maker in the kitchen which kept dropping loud loads of ice every few hours and overflowing!

Each day we ran, did strength training, had recreation time, and finished the day with devotion.
The terrain for running was definitely challenging. Runners had a choice... uphill or downhill, but there was not really a flat option! Recreation activities included hiking, kickball, ultimate frisbee, and 4 square! Four square was a great way to beat the heat and play something competitive indoors.

Hiking a trail during recreation time

Strengthening the hips

Learning about race strategy

Devotion with Mr. Young

What a great group of guys!

The girls arrived on Wednesday for their half of the week. Menus and schedules were almost identical...However, the girls slept in the lodge right from the beginning!

The week was great for both groups, but I think it seemed to be particularly helpful for the girls... especially the varsity group. They really came together as a group and I could tell that they were in for a good, strong season.

Kendra, Danielle, Julie, Martha, Olivia, and Catherine

All of the girls worked hard during our runs and strength training...

And we had fun during recreation, too! The lifeguards entertained us showing off with their tricks, and we had a few tricks of our own!

The best part of the week was our special speaker... My high school coach came one evening to speak to the girls about a wide variety of running issues! Coach Campbell has been one of the most influential people in my life, and I am so thankful that I got to share him with my Spartan girls! He finished up his talk by entertaining the group with some photos of me and even an old home video of our team!

Catching Up

I can NOT believe how long it has been since I've posted on this blog!! Everything in the next few posts will be very old news, but I like to keep my blog as sort of an online scrapbook...

At the end of the summer, my mom and sister came to help with some projects... I love the cottage look, but somehow or another my house was full of dark furniture! Our solution: paint just about everything downstairs! We started with painting and distressing my dining room table and china cabinet.
Next, we moved on to the black built in cabinet in our eating area. I know that the black is more trendy, but I just really like bright and colorful... SO... it took several coats, but we painted it white. We changed the background to blue, and also painted my kitchen chairs to match. Finally, we painted the bead board under the bar white and the pie safe green. I love the new look! It may sound garish to some of my more subdued friends, but, well, I think Mi Pueblo is beautiful! :)

The day my mom and sister were helping me finish up stuff, I got a phone call from Scott asking if I'd like some tomatoes to can. Sounded good to me, so I said, "Sure!" When he arrived home, box after box of tomatoes appeared in my kitchen. His reasoning: well, we got a good deal if I bought ALL 130 POUNDS!!!! Yikes! To his credit, he had NO idea how much work canning tomatoes is!

Now, we have a pantry full of chili tomatoes, salsa, and mexican tomatoes! How nice for this winter!
Right before school started, the girls got to do two more exciting things. First, we took a van load of girls to my mom's house for a "Math Party!" This was not a slumber party to work on multiplication... it was a party to celebrate Sarah's monumental math achievement... for the first time since first grade she is caught up in math!! We ordered pizza, swam, and stayed up late watching movies.

Next, we got to have "Chocolate Class" with Sydney! Sydney spent the previous semester in Italy taking culinary classes. The girls had been dying to learn some of her tricks, so she brought ingredients and taught us some Italian chocolate secrets!

YUM! The finished product!

EU Running Camp

In August of 2001, I had an idea. Why not start a cross country team at the school where Scott was teaching? The principal thought it was a fine idea, and so Scott became the coach on paper. The kids and I would come up to East Union each afternoon, and we would coach together. We joked that I was the brains behind the operation, and he had the loud voice to carry it through. We started running around the baseball fields and adjoining cotton fields, and before we knew it, we had worked out a little course around the campus. Here are the runners on the famous (or infamous) cotton field road hill...
Now, it is 2010. Scott is going back to teach at East Union, and I am coaching 3 of my former Urchins at Blue Mountain.

Quick aside... for those of you who might not know, East Union's mascot is the SEA URCHIN. No joke about the name... GO URCHINS!!! The joke is, the mascot is not actually a sea urchin; It is a sea HORSE. Very interesting choice for a completely landlocked school in the middle of rural Mississippi! Oh, yes, and did I mention that the colors are brown and gold? That's right, brown and gold, baby, brown and gold.

Breakin' it down before the group run

SO. It came about that I was asked to speak at East Union's running camp last week. It was very special to me to have the opportunity to go back there and speak to several siblings of runners I coached! Tuesday night we talked about training ...

Attitude (It really is everything... well, almost)
Guidelines (training smart and with a plan)
External Factors (nutrition, rest, etc.)

Thursday night we talked about racing strategies. Mostly how to beat Myrtle. Just kidding Coach Greer! :) Really, we discussed issues surrounding racing...

Pre-race preparation
Running Smart
Staying Focused

I think it went well, and I enjoyed the opportunity to speak. Sarah went with me on Tuesday, and did a great job. I had to tell Coach McClellan that he better not be trying to recruit my own kid out from under me... She's a Spartan, not an Urchin, no matter where her daddy works! :)

Guys doing a little hill work to finish off practice

Well, I have made significant progress toward being a real farm wife this week! I got to help Scott fix the tractor,

and we got 50 baby chicks to raise for meat!

I say progress (rather than having officially arrived at being a farm wife), for two reasons.

#1 I didn't actually fix the tractor... I just tightened bolts because my hands are smaller

#2 Because the inevitable question concerning the chicks arises: "So, are you going to wring their necks and pluck them when they are old enough to eat?" When it does, my inevitable answer is "NO!" We will raise them here, and when it is "Chicken Killin' Day," we will take them to a nearby farm where our friends raise all natural meat. On "Chicken Killin' Day," Scott and the kids have agreed to help slaughter chickens together with our friends, and I have volunteered to bring food, prepare food for everyone, and clean house for them while they are out... killin' chickens!

I might end up helping, but I am not wringing any necks... nor do I think I could slit any throats. Maybe I can operate the food saver or something!

They were so cute and tiny when they arrived! Check out our redneck engineering at its finest... they are in kiddie pools for now. We will move them to a pen when they get a little bigger!

Josh

Will

Hannah

Jammin'

This is just a random post with some pictures of summer happenings....

A few weeks ago, Stokes had blueberries and mangoes on sale. Not just any sale... but call all of your friends, b/c this is a fabulous deal kind of sale! I bought 2 cases of mangoes and 6 cases of blueberries. Many of the blueberries went into my freezer, but the girls made several cobblers, and I decided to make some jam!

I spent the day with a friend making several batches of jams. We made blueberry lime, blueberry mango, and raspberry mango. When I got home, I was very pleased! However, I still had a case of mangoes and two cases of blueberries left!

The next day was Saturday, so the girls and I went to work. We ended up with 52 jars of jam!

In other news, Sarah got her point shoes this summer. She has been practicing on point, and doing well. As this milestone has been reached, she has been faced with a decision: Spartans or ballet. It has been very tough for her, but I think that she has chosen to keep running. Although she LOVES ballet, she likes running and wants to be able to see her friends at running practice. It really has not been as simple as this, but we think she has chosen wisely. It is so hard when there are many GOOD things to do... it's just not good to do all of them!
Finally, we got a new puppy. Yes, the poor thing is in a wedding dress. HE (yes, HE is in a wedding dress) got named Darth Vader, because we already had Luke Skywalker. Darth Vader is not the most intimidating creature, is he?

No wonder he looks so forlorn in the next picture!

First Spartan to become a Topper!

I mentioned that I had a signee come out of running camp... I didn't mention that it was one of my Spartans from last year!

Mary Chunn decided to come to running camp, even though she had already graduated from high school. I am not exactly sure why she decided to come, but I think it was providential. As the week went on, the BMC runners steadily talked to her about the possibility of coming to run for Blue Mountain College. She was interested, and agreed to talk to her parents and consider the matter.

The following week, she decided to sign! We are thankful to have Mary joining us at BMC! Mary has a lot of potential, and I know she will make the Toppers (and the Spartans) proud! Hopefully she will be the first in a long line of Chunns to come and run for me there!

Matt and Michael couldn't make it, but here are Steve, Yonnea, and siblings with Mary.