Drowned Desert Rats

After a grueling game of  8-on-8 wallyball for FHE tonight, Claire, Hannah and I decided to go on a run. It was a lovely night and I hadn't done any cardio for the day, so I was down. I knew it wouldn't be easy though because those Salmon sisters are beasts when it comes to sports or fitness.

(I don't like calling them beasts, because when they run they're more gazelle like than boar-ish, but beast implies that they can go and go and go and not even be phased)

So off we went, starting at the bottom of temple hill. We ran all the way up to the temple, down along campus, to Walgreens and then took a left and kept on running until we ran out of Rexburg. We ran for about an hour. We got back to our apartments and walked a couple laps around the apartment complex to cool down. As we were walking, Claire made mention that we looked like a bunch of drowned rats. I can't think of a better mental picture for us. When we started running it was sprinkling outside and the rain only picked up as we ran. Before I knew it, this desert rat was running through Rexburg in the pouring rain.

(Ok, maybe not pouring by Seattle's definition, but definitely pouring in Moapa terms)

Our hair had been slicked down and frizzed out with the rain, our make-up was running down our faces and our clothes and shoes were wet. Underneath all that we were sweaty and smelled like....roses.  I'm sure we were quite a sight to see.

No this isn't us after our run, but these are the lovely ladies in today's story :)

Yet, tonight as we gathered for apartment prayer and took turns saying our favorite parts of the day. All three of us agreed that that run was by far the favorite part of the day. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) I don't have a picture of us after the run to show you, but I can guarantee that if I did we'd all have giant smiles on our faces despite our drowned rat appearances. That endorphin thing that I've learned about all these years is pretty legit. I'm a believer. I was so proud of myself for finishing that run. I was so happy to be with Claire and Hannah. I'm not a fan of the rain, but in that hour, I absolutely loved it. Mostly, I was in awe of my body.

I had the pleasure of going to the Bodies exhibit in Idaho Falls on Saturday. It's an exhibit full of human bodies... dead ones, but real ones. Wierd? Yes. Gross? Kind of. Fascinating? For sure. They show the different systems in the body and how they all work together. It was incredible. As I was running, I kept thinking about all the different things my body was doing right at that moment. My heart, my lungs, my legs, my hips, my...spleen? Just everything all working together to keep moving me forward!

"The human body is a marvelous manifestation of the Divine Creator’s art, worthy of our deepest gratitude." -Russell M.Nelson

Deep gratitude for that marvelous manifestation of God's art is definitely what I felt tonight.