Running...Could I Actually Enjoy This Activity?

So I have found through my extensive working-out experiences that I love to get my exercise through activities that I do for intrinsic reasons. I have accepted this fact and have found activities that are a great workout that are also fun to do.

I do enjoy a good cardio workout video, but this is the only exception. I tried P90X and found it to be too...manly (and I only lost like 3 lbs after two months of that crap). When I workout I like to have someone who is peppy leading my workout, telling me how great I am and that we can do this together. Not some 50 yr old, yet ripped man who is doing bicep curls while saying in a gruff voice, "this isn't a workout for sissies. this is real. We have actual DNA extraction going on here". 

So, anyway, for example I like to do things like dancing (country two step and latin are the best), biking, swimming, going to seven peaks, etc. to get some exercise. But last night, I decided to do something radical. I went...

 Running. 

Yes. I did. and I ENJOYED it! Granted, I didn't run for more than 20 or 30 minutes, but I was really surprised at how well I did. Usually when I start up running again it is a very painful process that just hurts my body and makes my self esteem drop by like 50 points as it makes me feel like I am really out of shape and I probably run funny. I also always have to do a walk-jog-walk-jog pace that is slightly embarrassing (My excuse for not running was that I needed a digital watch so I could look at it and make it look like I was training and knew what I was doing whenever I started walking...sad, I know).

But last night...that all changed. I felt light on my feet, like I could just keep going forever. My throat didn't get all dry and my side didn't cramp up and my feet and joints felt great. I felt Awesome when I did it and I felt Awesome this morning when I woke up. What caused this phenomenon of actually feeling good when I run? I'm blaming it on those stairs up to campus paired with all the dance classes I took this spring and summer. and I am much slimmer than the last time I tried running. That may have something to do with it.

But, the moral of the story is, I think I might actually enjoy this form of exercise and may start doing it regularly. It makes me feel fit not crappy! :) It's a miracle! :D Hooray!

ps: my ward just announced they are doing a combined ward 5K on the 15th of October and I totally said I was participating...hope I don't regret that.

Thirds...they are Beautiful!

I am taking a class right now that is called Leisure in Contemporary Society. I Love It! I wasn't sure if I would because some of the RMYL classes sound good, but they are actually kind of boring...ok that was just Accessible Recreation, but you get my point. So, every time I go to this class, it reaffirms that I picked the right major. We discuss the importance of leisure in society and how it shapes a culture and how play keeps children from becoming sociopaths. So, anyway! I had this reading that I had to do (which, was written by an RMYL professor at BYU-Idaho!...Rachel), and it was soooo good! I got so much out of it, but the main thing I got was something that Joseph Smith said. he said that your 24 hr day should be divided into three eight hour sections. eight to sleep, eight to work and eight to renew, refresh, and recreate. So I have been trying to apply this model to my life lately! Between actually going to school and homework, I tend to spend more than eight hours on work, but it has made me prioritize my time so much better. I don't get distracted so easily and I have actually gotten all of my homework done for this weekend up until tuesday! It's amazing! I'm so happy! The only thing I have left is posting this blog and marking that I did it! It's pretty great! :) I had time to go to the canyon today and play and it was amazing! So if I spend a little more time on homework during the week, it's really okay, because I make up for it on the weekend in playing! I LOVE MY MAJOR!!!! YESSS!!!!

Marriage...

This is my sister and her Fiance. I took their engagement photos and edited them. I should show the original. I did quite a bit of work. They finally decided to use this for the announcement and I feel pretty good about that. :)

So all of this marriage talk has got me thinking...the fact that people ever get married is such a miracle. It is so complex. How do you ever find someone that has that "it" factor? I have never run into someone that I felt like I could be with forever. It's fair to say I have never been in love. It's easy to be "in like" or be attracted for a while, but legitimate, hard core LOVE is pretty miraculous. Just to find someone who likes you and you like them back is really hard to find, but falling in love, I believe is a miracle. After ending a relationship, I felt a little discouraged. It felt like it would never happen again. It hadn't happened for me up until that point and I was feeling like maybe I had thrown away my only chance at love. That's a little dramatic, but logically, it would seem I would have to wait another 5 to 10 years in order to find someone that I would like to be exclusive with and where the feelings were mutual. But miracles do happen and I am sure at some point in the not-to-distant future I will find someone that is a great match for me. I just am amazed that people can find someone who is such a perfect partner for them in such short amounts of time when every other person they have been with isn't right for them. Only God could come up with something like this and have it work out. Crazy!

1st Week In The Life of Kristen

So, this is my very first blog post...ever. I plan on posting about some of the events of my life or just things that I am really excited about and cannot keep to myself. so this week I am going to talk about my week. Next week will be more interesting as I am going to post some pictures of my sister and her fiance. I took their engagements, so I will post the announcement when I finish it next week.
This week I only went to school for two days because I went on a two day field trip with my careers in recreation class. Monday was a holiday and we left Thursday morning. This was a very busy week for me. School was crazy and the hw load is pretty intense. The Field trip was pretty cool. time consuming, but fun. We went to several recreation facilities and learned about what they do there. I loved going to Thanksgiving Point and Provo Beach Resort. I want to event planning, so Thanksgiving point was very interesting to me. Aspen Grove is where we spent the night and I would love to take my family there sometime. It was a very impressive facility. The conclusion I came to after this week was that I am very, very happy with my major. I love that I will get to be involved with recreation for the rest of my life! What a fun life! :)