This great tradition was started when our fearless team captain (Shae Hildreth) put together a stellar team of women who just so happen to be some of my best friends! We had SO much fun and although we hadn't trained, nor were conditioned, we took second place in the women's division! Not bad for not even trying :)
Team Be Somebody: Taylor, Claire, LeeAnn, Shae, Noelle, Brittany, Marquee, Kim
This year, we had to switch things up a bit as half our team got married (not that that makes a difference:) but they were MIA.
So I took up the title of team captain and recruited a few newcomers.
Before: Rexburg Temple
Again, it was SUCH a blast. We had so much fun rocking out to tunes, cheering on the sidelines, pigging out on trail mix and granola bars and running our little hearts out.
I was so impressed with our team who ran the entire 37+ miles in under 5 hours!
That's an average of a 7:45 minute mile.
CRAZY FAST!
Still looking good in IF
Out of 91 teams, we came in 5th in our division. Not bad!
Team Be Somebody: Greg, Kimithy, Ric, Me, Dallin, Jordan, Abigail and April
It was seriously, SO fun and it felt good to be out there running again. If you ever get a chance to do the Temple-to-Temple. You simply must! You won't regret it :)
1. I think that teeth are fabulous and fascinating, they are quite possibly my favorite characteristic to gawk over in a person.
2. One time I gave a talk in which I related saying your prayers to brushing your teeth... that was over two years ago, and just the other day I was referred to as the "Toothpaste Talk Girl"... I don't know how I feel about that..
Shae and I brushing up before a Cabin-boy adventure!
Speaking of which, I have discovered the secret to healthy living and I am sharing it only with my faithful blog readers. Ready for this? Good.
Healthy= Diet +Excercise riiiight? Right. Let's take it one step further shall wee?
Diet+Exercise+Clean Teeth
That's the secret. And here's why
Exercise: I love brushing my teeth right before I work out or go running because when your mouth feels good your whole body feels good, it's true! And you just have that clean fresh minty feeling in your mouth and it makes you feel like you can run til.... til whenever. Teeth brushing is super empowering when it comes to working out.
Diet: Here's the trick. Eat dinner at 6 or 7 and then BRUSH your teeth! That way if you get cravings or get offered some food later into the evening (which is usually JUNK food) you have the perfect excuse, "I've already brushed my teeth", and that much more will power to just say no. And there you have it folks.
Grace brushing her teeth at work! She's a believer.
P.S. Along these same lines, in devotional last semester, Brother Wahlquist informed us that brushing your teeth is a good way to get more dates and get people to like you. Teeth brushing: It's just an all around good thing.
So I was out on a run last Wednesday evening. It started off as a great run, beautiful weather, pleasant breeze and I was just feelin good all around.
By the end of the run, my eyes were practically swollen shut, I had tears streaming down my face, I couldn't stop sniffling and I thought I was going to die.
What happened you ask?
Hay-fever happened. Allergies got the best of me.
I guess I just forget that I get allergies really bad every spring. So they came again and snuck up on me this semester. And let me tell you, they sure have been kicking my toosh. The sneezing, the watering eyes, the runny nose, the foggy thinking, the energy zapping etc etc.
Anyways, back to my story, so I'm walking up the stairs to come home from my run, and I run into my dear friend LeeAnn. I was so very happy to run into her because she was leaving for home (Ohio) the next day, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to say goodbye.
This is LeeAnn and I on a group date. She is seriously one of the most gorgeous girls I have ever met.
Anyways, I had a nice chat with her, during which she noticed my apparent allergy problem. Well, I woke up the next morning only to find this on my kitchen table:
IT says: "Noelle, hope this helps! And they say that a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down, or in this case, some chocolate. Feel better! Love, your fairy GodMother"
My first thought when I saw this was, "This has visiting teachers written all over it!" Wrong, this was simply a good friend who went way out of her way on a day where she could have been doing a million other things (seeing as she was preparing to fly across the country) to help out a sniffling, sneezing friend.
I couldn't believe it.
It made me think of this talk given by Sister Cook in the April 2011 General Young Women's conference. SUCH a great talk, I highly recommend reading it. In it, she encourages us to become benevolent.
Benevolent:"A lovely word that we don’t hear very often. Its roots are Latin, and it means “to wish someone well.”To be benevolent is to be kind, well meaning, and charitable."
LeeAnn Riggs is benevolent. She and Sister Cook have given me a new found desire to become more benevolent. To be a little kinder, to be more selfless, to forget my own needs and desires for a moment to focus on the needs of others. Benevolent. Gosh, that is a lovely word isn't it?
So I've kind of, sort of been falling behind on my blogging assignment...whoops! I think of things to blog about all the time, but do I write them down?? No. Do I forget them almost as quickly as I think them up? Yes! Am I going to work harder at being better at this blog thing? Yeah man! In the mean time this random post'll have to do to fill my post quota.
Sock Tan Lines
Today, I realized that I have sock tan lines, yeahhhhh!!! This excites me because:
1. It means that the sun has shone long enough in Rexburg to add a little color to my skin and
2. I have spent a sufficient amount of time enjoying that sunshine outside while doing things that would require me to be wearing shoes i.e. playing tennis, running, bicycling, pulling weeds etc. Meaning I got a tan from doing more than "laying out" wahoo!
Road Signs
Today, I also went on a nice run. It's a four mile loop that I have run with my roommates. It's out in the beautiful back country full of fields and a gorgeous view all the way around. A lot goes through my mind while I'm out running. It's a good time to think. I really like to plan out my life and kind of evaluate myself and make sure I'm at where I want to be at.
For the past couple of months I've been thinking long and hard about my future and where exactly I want to go with it. While I was running this was weighing heavily on my mind, and I was just really confused about what step I should take next, or what direction I should be heading.
Just as I was about to give up on this issue for the moment, and give up my running and start walking, I saw four road signs up ahead.
This is neither the road nor the signs that I saw, but I didn't have my camera with me on my run (silly me) so this'll have to suffice.
The first sign reminded me of a phase of my life I went through when I was 17.
The second one immediately clicked in my mind with a phase I went through when I was 18.
The third sign was actually kind of humorous the way it represented a phase I went through when I was 19.
The fourth sign represented a phase I went through at 20 and had just finished up.
All right in a row and all seeming completely applicable to my past.
There was one more sign a little further up the road. This was one that I didn't have a time of my life to relate to. Not yet at least, but it was definitely something that could be the next phase in my life.
As all this was clicking in my head I kept on running (uphill during all this might I add). Finally the road leveled out again and I looked up to find the next road sign only to see that I had reached the temple, my last "road sign" if you will.
I'm sure this is pretty confusing to read, especially since you know neither the particular road signs nor what I correlated them too, but let me just say that it was SUCH an eyeopener and an answered prayer for me. I had seen those signs dozens of other times, but today I saw them completely differently and gained so much because of it.
So if any of you are in Rexburg and want to accompany me on a four miler I'd be happy to point these signs out to you and explain myself with them, it'd just take too long and be too confusing to write here :) So get out those running shoes, and let's go!
Broken Bikes
And to finish this post off, I have a sad story. Remember the story of my beloved bike? Well, I took my bike out on Saturday morning to help with a service project and then to visit my friends at the Homestead. It was a beautiful morning and a great bike ride. Then first thing Monday morning I hopped on my bike to ride it to Spanish class because I was running late and that blessed bike gets me there in no time! Except this time, my poor little bike could hardly even putter forward. I wish I had pictures, to demonstrate the damage done, but they're just too, too sad.
Refer to this diagram to better understand the damage done :)
The handle bars were pushed completely down backward towards the frame, the forks were all twisted and mangled, when I leaned the bike over-a ton of dirt came out of the handlebars, the front skewer and the front rim were in awful condition and the front wheel was barely hanging on. It was sooo sad!
I have no idea what happened to it between the time I left it on Saturday to Monday morning. I'm guessing that somebody borrowed it and had a bit of an accident on it. So I hope whoever it was is in better shape than my bike!
Last Saturday, June 18, Kim and I celebrated "Fitness Day". Just because we can.
This is Said Kim and myself
For Fitness Day we wanted to participate in fitness, support fitness, watch fitness events etc... so here's what we did :)
> I ran a 5k (about 3.1 miles) while Kim supported her Sister-in-law at her Volleyball game
> We helped set up the "5k Wellness Walk: Commit to be Fit" at the school, sponsered by the wellness center and the Food Services Student Board of Directors(That's me)
> We watched Claire and Hannah dominate in their soccer game
> We cheered on the 100+ people who came to participate in the 5k Wellness Walk and hydrated and fed them after they finished.
>Bike ride around town
>Bike up to watch the baseball games
> Swam laps for about an hour
By then we were pretty tuckered out and were needin' some good "Fitness Day" food. Here's what we came up with:
Tomatoes
Bell Peppers
Garden Noodles
Mixed with Spinach and Onions
All mixed in and cooked with eggs.
We called it our Fitness Frittata. And it was delicious! And that ladies and gentleman, was our Fitness day. It was great! However, to top it all off, we went to Sammy's and got one of these bad boys:
Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcake Shake. Guilt-free, we deserved it!
So here's the thing, Saturday wasn't even National Fitness Day, we just made it up, so don't worry you didn't miss it :) You can have your own and go fitness crazy as you "Commit to be Fit", be sure and let me know how it goes!
Love, Noelle
P.S. I'll be in Logandale for the month of August and will be needing some running/work out buddies :) Start training, and I'll see ya in six weeks!
Keri Rich, Claire Salmon and I spent our Saturday morning hearing comments such as the following:
"You Rock!" - Old guy with glasses and Hawaiian shorts
"Come finish it for me!"- Old guy
"That way?"-Old man
"Thank you!"- A guy with a heavy accent
"GRRRRMMMMAMMMAAAWWWW!"- A nice young man with a lot of energy
"Do you guys have any morphine??"-Old man
"Now that's inspiration!"- Old man referring to our sweet dance moves.
And my personal favorite:
"Look how fast I'm going!"- Hispanic man said with a cute accent
We also heard several, "You're awesome!" 's and even more, "You're the best cheerers so far!"
Any guesses as to how we three ladies spent our Saturday morning? See if you can guess from a few pictures:
So our morning started at about 6:15 am. Claire was the drill sergeant in charge of waking us up.
I wasn't very happy about being awake so exceedingly early, until I found out that lovely Claire had made and packed German Pancakes for our breakfast once we got to our destination. That put me in a good mood :)
After breakfast, we crashed. I'm sure we were a sight to see: Three college girls passed out on some random Rexburg street corner. It was cold :( and it even started raining on us!
Then things brightened up and we got our groove on, right in the middle of the street, for about 3 hours!
Poor Keri :)
And then we crashed...again, but in a more comfortable place.
Ok, if you haven't guessed, we spent our Saturday morning as volunteers for the Teton Dam Marathon. We were in charge of standing on a street corner all morning and cheering runners on as they ran past us. We were located at mile 25.5 out of a total of 26.2 miles, so we were right there near the end. Despite the early hour and our grumpy beginnings, we finished out strong and had so much fun cheering on the runners as they ran by. We jumped, kicked, danced and yelled our hearts out. I'd be willing to bet we burned just as much calories as those runners... ok well maybe not quite as much, but we were movin like crazy!
By the end of the race, we were worn out and our throats were raw, but we had a blast! Good thing it was National Be Outside day, because we were outside all morning. It was great!
Also, I made it a goal, if I'm in Rexburg next spring, to run the Teton Dam Half Marathon. That's 13ish or so miles.. with a little training that's totally doable!! I can just imagine the feeling of accomplishment I'd feel, ahhh bliss. There were so many elderly folk out there running; if they could get out there and do it, so could I! The only thing that throws me off is that you have to pay like $45 to participate. Pay money to run... what?? Minor details, minor details. Running a marathon is on my bucket list, so $45 or not, it must be done!
My lovely roommate Hannah Salmon finished the half!
The half marathoner and I!
Salmon Sisters
Soo... half marathon next spring? :) Who's with me?
And I'm not talking about these tasty little treats.
I'm talking about the up-down exercise we've been doing since elementary school.
Please allow me to share with you why I love them so much.
Last semester I had a roommate who was way into them. Her mom (who has had 9 children) can do 30 man push-ups without stopping. THIRTY! That right there was all the inspiration I needed. So I got down on my hands and knees and pathetically pushed out one... ok like half of one. It was hard! But from then on I decided that I was going to be able to top Mrs. Laufenburg and get up to at least 35 push-ups.
Also, check this out. A push-up works the following parts of your body.
1. Chest
2. Hands, forearms, biceps, triceps
3. Shoulders, traps, upper back, lower back
4. Abs
5. Glutes
6. Hamstrings, quads, calf, feet
7. Your heart muscle gets stronger and your mind get more 'clear', too
Wait, there's more. You can do push-ups anywhere, anytime, by yourself, or with others. You don't have to go to the gym. You don't have to go outside. You don't need other people. You don't need any equipment. You can do as many or as few as you'd like.
The more you practice them, the more you'll be able to do. It's so exciting when you can get more and more reps in each set.
So here's your golden opportunity. Like they say in the movies, "Drop and give me twenty!" Or ten. Or five. Get down there and do one for goodness sakes. Just try it out and keep it up!
This is my niece Molly. Check out that perfect form!
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.
