Too Much Fun In The Sun

This morning we woke up at 5:30 a.m. to go out on the beach and watch the sunrise...it was AWESOME!  The sun finally came up at around 6:20 and the whole time we were waiting I was just itching to get running, don't ask me why after my experience yesterday.  Here are some pictures from our little outing.

Isn't that FAB.U.LOUS??

So as soon as the sun came up Jake and I headed out for our little run.  I can't tell you how grateful I am to have such a loving, awesome husband who is willing to go running with me in crazy humidity with chaffed legs and blistered toes.  He doesn't particularly love to run but he doesn't want me out galavanting around the town by myself.  He is the greatest :)  We did 6 miles in 48 minutes with an average pace of 8.04 min mile.  Not my fastest run but I am still struggling to breathe with all of this humidity.  We sprinted at the end with a max pace of 4.57 minute mile...mind you it was only 50 feet ;)  I ended up with a horrible blister on my toe and since we are going to Disney World tomorrow I have decided to skip running for one day.  Jake is thrilled to the gills about that.  Hopefully walking all day long is enough of a workout, maybe I should start doing burpees while waiting in long lines. 

We have been having all sorts of fun at the pool and laughing at all of the crazy things that Kobe says.  Here are a few of our favorite Kobe lines.

He has been calling everyone a "hobo on a stick," I don't know where he came up with that one, especially the stick part.

Then he called my sister an "angry Chinese woman."  We couldn't stop laughing, especially because when he called her that she wasn't even angry.

For years I have called my part, you know in my hair, my crack.  So my sister was complaining that she had burnt her head and I asked her if she had sprayed her crack.  Everybody looked at me like I was some sort of crazy person.  After I had finished explaining myself my step dad, Papa Jex, said "4 out of 5 dermatologist recommend it and 5 out of 5 proctologist recommend it."  It was awesomely funny!

We have been doing some fun tricks into the pool, I think everyone who watches us thinks we are crazysauce but we don't care.

Mama Jex kind of forgot to go when we said 1,2,3 GO!  Silly Mama Jex ;)

That is me doing a back tuck thingy off of Jake's shoulders.  Good times.

After we were done at the pool we went on a Manatee and Dolphin tour.  We saw some but weren't able to get any great pictures, so here is a group shot instead.

I thought that I was safe from the sun being under that fancy little covering on the boat but apparently I was not completely covered because I got BURNT, ouch!!!  It was a 2 hour tour, not to be confused with a 3 hour tour, we left Gilligan at home.  Needless to say getting up early, running, swimming and doing crazy stunts all morning, I got a bit sleepy on the tour and fell asleep.  Thus, the sun burn on my shoulders.  In case that wasn't enough sun for one day we then headed down south to a new beach where there weren't any jellyfish, YIPEE!!  Jake and the kids had some fun in the ocean.  Shanin, my sister, and I had fun watching some dude paddle out on a GINORMOUS surf board while standing up.  The waves were huge and I can't even imagine the kind of balance it would take to do that.

That is him in the background, sorry it's not a better picture. 

It looks like I need to get to bed, we have a long day at the Magic Kingdom tomorrow.

When you go swimming are you the type to sit and get a tan or play around in the pool?

I do both, it has been really fun to just be silly and not care what the people around me are thinking...I'll never see them again.  Well, at least that's what I thought the first day but I keep seeing them everyday...oh well :)

Have you ever been on a 2...or 3 hour boat tour?

Now I have, I'm glad it ended better than Gilligan's



First Run In Florida

Sunday was a rest day but we did walk a little more than 4 miles.  This morning we ran 5.52 miles in 44 minutes with an average pace of 7.59 minute mile.  Let me tell you, I have NEVER come so close to throwing up while working out in my life.  I thought being at sea level I would be able to run like a gazelle but I found that it is VERY hard to breathe here.  It is 77 degrees and 78% humidity.  Luckily for me it is time to taper in order to run the Utah Valley Marathon.

Jake and I saw a turtle while we were running and it was so awesome, it looked like the shell had been hand carved, it wasn't like any turtle I have ever seen before.  Then we saw a dead snake in the road and I let out a screech, Jake found it quite entertaining to see me freak out.

As we were walking along the beach yesterday we saw this poor unfortunate stingray.  Sorry to show such a gross picture but I wanted you to see that it has a shark bite taken out of it.  "There aren't any sharks around here," yea right!  Kenna named him Sharkbait :)

Here is a picture of some hot dudes that I found on the beach

Remember how I said we were having a jellyfish invasion?  Here is what the beach looks like.

When the beach is covered in jellyfish you are forced to head to the pool.

Kobe is quite the little Zoolander, here are some pics for your enjoyment.

He is a funny boy.  So looking at my little Smeagol would you say that he would float or sink?

The child can swin like a little fish as long as he has his snorkle gear on.  He swims for a bit and then just stops and floats for a minute and then swims again.  It was so funny to see him swimming along and then hear him laugh through his little snorkle.

This morning my step dad, Mike, was heading out to the balcony and he ran into the screen door.  I couldn't stop laughing as he then preceeded to tell me that McKenna had done the same thing.  DUH!! ;)  So naturally I forced them to pose for a picture.

I want you to think back to when I said that the secret to a good run was a chocolate donut.  Apparently, the word is spreading.

I must say that the world famous Dunkin Donut has nothing on the Hill's Bakery donut.  I had such great expectations only to be disappointed.

Now it is confession time.  It is now Monday morning and I haven't showered since Satuday morning.  I think reading about the great Hungry Runner Girls hygiene is rubbing off on me ;)  I have always been the type of person that would wake up early to get all done up before going anywhere (except the gym) but I have come a long way.  Yesterday we woke up and headed right down to the beach, then the pool.  We decided to walk down to Ron Jon's Surf Shop and I said to myself "why shower, we are just going to come back and swim."  And that is exactly what we did.  Then we were going to head out for some supper and I thought "why shower, we are just going to come back and go to the beach."  Then I thought "why shower now, I am just going to wake up and go running."

I think now that it has been 48 hours since my last shower that I should probably hop right in there before deciding that I am just going to go to the beach so what's the point.  Actually since I usually HAVE to shave my legs every single day I am going crazy...MUST SHAVE!!

Sorry for the super long, boring post but I had to get some things out there.

What's the weather like in Utah or where ever you may be?

Like I said, it is 77 degrees and 78% humidity in Cocoa Beach.  I won't complain :) at least now that I am done running!

Where has been you favorite place to run?

I was hoping to be able to say Cocoa Beach, FL but I am going to have to stick with Valencia, CA.  I found it so easy to run in California being at sea level and just humid enough to help with my undying thirst.

Ragnar practice and travels

Day 2 of Ragnar practice: After getting maybe 5 hours of sleep it was time to run again.  5.30 miles in 43 minutes with an average pace of 8.10.  Slower than average again but it was good practice for Ragnar.  Sleep deprived and sore as can be.  But it was nice to know that I had done something as I sat on my big ol' butt all day ;)

My nephew, Riun, kept us quite entertained.  He decided to go for a ride on his suitcase.  "And that is why we can't buy nice things!"  I heard those words come out of someones mouth, I just can't remember who.  GIDDY UP!!

 Then he was forced into this little glass box for some secondary screening.

Poor little hoodlum ;)

"If you're gonna spew, spew into this" 

That is the view from our balcony, we are steps away from Cocoa Beach.  Hopefully we will get to go in the ocean.  There are TONS of tiny little jellyfish in the water, which hasn't happened in at least 20 years, according to the waitress at the restaurant.  So guess who got stung?  Jakey pooh.  And you know what you have to do to take the sting away...well, no one helped the poor guy out.  He will be fine.  How am I supposed to learn to surf when there are millions on jellyfish just waiting to sting me?  Oh well, at least I won't end up like that Soul Surfer chick.  That was an awesome movie by the way.

I can't wait to run but I am MAKING myself take a rest day tomorrow.  Guess what is just down the way?  Dunkin Donuts, YUM!  Chocolate cake donuts are the BEST way to fuel a run ;)  If you think I am kidding, I'm not.  I have found that if I have a chocolate cake donut on Friday afternoon my long run the next morning is extra good.  That's right peeps.  The secret to an awesome long run is a chocolate cake donut, a carbilicious dinner and a dose of SportLegs in the morning.

I have to say that I am not one of those people who run to eat but I do like to indulge in a treat every now and again.  I will think of you as I am eating meself a donut, on the beach, with a jellyfish :)

If you had the opportunity to learn to surf would you want to do it?

I have mixed feelings about this, I REALLY want to learn to surf and have for years but I am not a strong swimmer and I am leary of getting in the ocean.  Things aren't looking good for me are they?  There's just something about all of those strange little critters in the water that freaks my freak.

What have you found to be the best way to fuel yourself for a long run?

I've already shared the secret to my success...you're welcome ;)

Master Packer and 2 Runs

This morning was an all abs workout, I do it every Friday and it is literally 1 hour of abs.  Of course, by Friday I am usually pretty tired and we usually get pretty chatty and silly but anywho, it's a lot of abs.  Since I am leaving at 7 in the a.m. I will not have time to do my usual long run tomorrow, plus I need to start doing 2 runs a day at least once a week to get prepared for Ragnar.  So this morning I ran just over 10 miles at the gym.  I am going out running again at 4 p.m. so I decided it would be a good idea to do some foam rolling and stretching, seems how I am EXTREMELY sore.  I think I did a number on myself this week and I may have pulled a little muscle in my inner thigh...oops!  Excuse my sweatiness in this next picture.

I told Kenna to cut my head off on purpose but you can kind of see my face...it was painful to say the least.  So the reason for all the sweat is because rather than run outside in the beautiful weather I decided to do it on the dreadmill.  With my leg pain I wasn't sure how my run would go and I didn't want to get to the middle of nowhere and start feeling the pain.  Although it was HOT, I did get to enjoy watching 17 Again.  I just love that movie and there were 2 lines that really made me giggle that I just have to share.

"He's nothing but a glorified midget wrangler" :)  For some reason that really tickles me!

"Weirdy man-child"  The other day I called someone, who will remain name less, a man-child.  So that made me chuckle a bit.  I am very easily entertained, what can I say.

My little Mama Jex taught me a trick to packing, she must have known that without a little help I would have shown up at her house with 25 suitcases tomorrow.  She told me to roll everything and that it would make it fit real nice like.  She was right and I am now the "master packer."

That right there is Jake's suitcase.  His clothes are big and I was able to fit all of his stuff in a tiny, little carry on.  I impressed myself with that one :)  I packed for a week in Florida and this is all of our luggage, minus 1 more that will be packed later. 

That's right folks, a family of 4 for a week and I fit it all into 3 little carry on sized suitcases.  My madre will be so proud ;)
Since we are attempting our Ragnar practice run today we decided we better do the P90X Stretch dvd

Like I said I'm REAL sore so it hurt me pretty bad!  It is now 8:45 p.m. and we have since done our second run for the day, 8 miles in 1:06 we averaged an 8:16 minute mile which is a bit slower than usual.  Can I just say that when your body is used to running in the wee morning hours it does not appreciate running in the late afternoon.  On a happy note, we were just running along minding our own business when all of a sudden we saw a "wild Macaw" and it was laughing at us.  Seriously, we would laugh at him and then he would laugh at us.  It was awesome :)

Well, it is well past me bedtime.  I am hoping to wake up and head out running at 4:45 a.m. and do a quick 6 miles before I have to go and sit on an aeroplane all day :)

Have you ever done multiple runs in a day and if so how was it?

I have done it before but not 10 and then 8 miles, it was good but pretty hard.

What fun trips do you have planned for the summer?

Just Florida :)

One Last Spin And A Grab Bag

Today was leg day and boy are my legs hurting.  Not only was the leg workout tough but then I headed into Janae's spin class, for the last time :(, and she has you do lock and loads which are hard enough on any other given day but on leg day ouchiemama.  Today was my last spin class and I am SUPER sad about it.  It's nice to give my legs a little break from running, cross training is key, but now if I want to spin I guess I will have to instruct myself.  After spin I went and ran 3 miles. 

So I was talking with a neighbor today and I think some of you out there may think that I am crazy or going a little overboard with the workouts.  I just want to make it clear that I don't workout like crazy because I feel that it is necessary but rather because I LOVE IT!  It is my stress relief and the one thing that I can do for myself each and every day.  I think as a mom it is important to find something that you enjoy and have a little "you time" each day.  Even if it means waking up at 4 a.m. :)  To get results do you HAVE to workout for 2 hours and 20 minutes each day?  NO!  I do think it is necessary to do weight training FOR SURE.  A lot of gals out there say that they don't want big man muscles so they don't want to lift weights.  But guess what?  The only way to get big man muscles is to take steroids, women do not have the testosterone necessary to build big muscles.  The more muscle you have the more calories your body will burn AT REST.  And I don't know about you but I would rather have toned arms than those dreaded relief society arms ;)  And as for cardio, I would suggest at least 45 minutes a day.  Unless you are doing intervals or sprints.  If you do a HIGH intensity cardio session it is best to keep it at or under 30 minutes.  If you are a nut ball like myself you could do 30 minutes of high intensity and then 30 minutes of moderate intensity cardio.

The other day I showed you what I thought was the breakfast of champions...well, this morning when I got home from the gym I noticed what Kobe had for breakfast

Yes, that is a bowl of Cocoa Pebbles and Kraft singles.  I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.  I know it is gross, I found it so very strange that the child would pair those two things together and I had to share...your welcome :)

Today I heard a little rap at the door and it was none other than HOLLY.  She brought me a big ol' bag of goodies. She included my favorite, pretzel m&m's, wipes (so I can wipe down the airplane), hand sanitizer, chocolate, vitamins that I have wanted to try, gum, an abs magazine that I have been eyeing and a US Weekly so that I can keep up on my Hollywood gossip.  And a whole bunch of other wonderful stuff :)  I am just grateful it didn't include any sugar free candy, that stuff does a number on ones system :) Thank you Holly!!  I truly do have the best friends a girl could ask for. 

I have had a number of people ask me about that ginormious smoothie concoction.  So here is what I do.  I put in a few ice cubes, like 4, 1/2 cup oats, 1 scoop whey protein powder,about 1 cup spinach, 1 banana, and as many berries as it takes to fill that little blender up.  Then I pour Ocean Spray Cran Energy juice in until there is enough liquid to properly blend and voila the perfect smoothie :)  I use Cran Energy because it gives me the little boost that I need to go about my day, waking up at 4 gets pretty tough.  It is also low in calories.  I am not a fan of drinking my calories so other than that juice all I drink all the live long day is WATER!  And I drink an insane amount of water each day.  I am worse to travel or shop with than a small child.

I am so very sad because I took a picture of the cutest little tent in Sam's Club and I even propped my lip gloss up next to it to show you just how tiny it really was and now I can't seem to get that blasted picture off of my phone :(  For some reason I LOVE little tiny things and I always have.

I want this to be a blog that is helpful to you so PLEASE feel free to ask me any questions you might have about fitness and I will do my darndest to answer you :)

Kick Your Trash and TREATS!

So the workout for today was a bootcamp style workout.  I have been writing these workouts up for about 2 1/2 years for some close friends and I.  They have become known as KYT, or kick your trash.  And that is exactly what it was today, it was EXTREMELY hard.  This workout is a total body workout with high intensity moves.  We do two .25 mile sprints, anywhere from 60-100 push-ups (there are so many different varieties of push-ups and I think we have tried them all), TONS of squats, lunges and plyometrics.  This is my fav-o-rite workout of the week.  There's nothing like kicking your own trash on a weekly basis.  After the KYT, I enjoyed a great spin class and then went and ran just under 3 miles, yep I ran out of time again :(  I hope to have a Bootcamp of my own one day, I love coming up with challenging workouts and watching people suffer through them...myself included! 

My little friend Tamitha, aka Tammy, brought me some goodies for my trip to Florida.  She got all of my favorites and no I will NOT share with the family ;)

Tammy is one of those friends that everyone should have, she is so thoughtful and thinks to do nice things for me and my kids all of the time.  The day I went to take my NASM certification test she decorated my door, she has decorated the door for birthdays and my kids gymnastics meets.  I wish I could be a more thoughtful person.  Jake got this idea from Tammy and was so sweet to decorate our door for my first marathon.  It made me feel so good as I was leaving the house at 3:30 am to see that he cared enough to do this for me.

The day of my first marathon was the best day EVER!  I loved every second of that run and I have a pic here to show you just how happy I was :)

 I had a huge smile in every picture taken of me that day.  I LOVED it and can't wait to do it again.  I am hopefully doing the Utah Valley Marathon again on June 11th and I can't wait.  That little gal beside me in the above picture is Holly and she is one of those thoughtful gals too.  She gave me a big basket of running goodies, including stuff to give myself a manicure.  Let's be honest running takes a toll on our toesies.

What is your favorite race distance?

I loved, loved, loved the marathon.  I know I am crazy but when I crossed that finish line I really felt like I had accomplished something great.

What is your favorite body part to workout?

I love the total body workout and legs is my next favorite.  I guess I like a challenge :)

FREEEEE Shoes

Today's workout was the usual looooong Tuesday workout.  I always have to work my chest, triceps, back and biceps on the same day in order to get every workout in for the week.  So after about 1 hour and 15 minutes of lifting I ran somewhere between 6.5 and 7 miles.  I REALLY wanted to do 8 miles but I ran out of time.  I had a hard time finding a quiet treadmill, maybe if it would stop raining I could go outside...that would be nice.  I also had to pull a Mr. Roger's and change my shoes after 1.5 miles.  So you may be wondering why on earth I would change shoes, I'm sure the people around me thought the same thing.  Well, seems how I am a shoe salesman :) at 26.2 Running Co. I was given a FREEEEE pair of K-Swiss K-ona running shoes.  Thank you Seth and K-Swiss for the hook up!  Apparently, they don't have enough support for me little feet to run in.  But they are cute and I did get a number of compliments on them this morning, so they will be used for work and for galavanting around the town.

Plus, they are REALLY good at giving Kobe a kick in the pants.

Kobe tried popping in the photo again so I told him if I could kick his rear he could be in it.  He was trilled to the gills and as you can see it hurt him real bad ;)

So as I said earlier, I am a shoe salesman.  When I told my sweet little Mama Jex that I got a job at a running store, she said "Oh...so you are a shoe salesman?"  I like to think of it as being a little bit more than that but I guess I should be a proud shoe salesman like Al Bundy ;)

So I must tell you how EXTREMELY sore I am and I have this little magical wheel to thank for it.

I like to go real low so that it not only works my abs but also my back and shoulders.

Every time I use this little beauty I get so sore that I feel like my ribs are bruised and I LOVE IT!  I know I am a bit strange but then I know that I got a good workout.

Now a mistake that most people make when working out is they do the same thing over and over and over... I think you get it.

They figure if it got them sore the first time that it must be good and they continue to do it for the next 4 years.  If you think I am over exaggerating, I'm not.  I see it everyday.

Your muscles will only continue to grow and change if you confuse them.  You HAVE to mix it up or you will not see results.

What I am going to show you next is quite possibly the most delicious thing and it IS the breakfast of champions!

This is my breakfast EVERY single day.  I am not ashamed to show the world that I can suck down a smoothie the size of Texas.  It's my favorite and I have been known to have a second one as a snack later in the day, minus the oats and spinach.  I think I am addicted to this delicious little concoction and I may need some help.  I do not leave home without that Magic Bullet, it is invited on ALL vacations!

After cleaning up the old home front I headed out to find me some reading material for the flight to Florida.  This guy amazes me and I can't wait to see how he could possibly manage to run 50 marathons in 50 days.  Just recently, he ran 3000 miles in 60 days.  He started at Disneyland and ended in New York, amazing!

I am so very excited for the Biggest Loser Season Finale!  If you haven't ever watched it I would highly recommend it.  I had never seen it before and watched a season finale and then I couldn't wait for the next season to start.  It is soooo inspiring!

Do you eat the same things everyday or do you mix it up?



I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch pretty much everyday.

What shows do you love to watch?

The Biggest Loser is the only show that I really watch anymore.  Although, I love Ellen and The Office.  I just never have time to sit and watch them. 

What items can you just not go without for a week?

The Magic Bullet and working out, it's a good thing you can run anywhere :)

By the way, once I hit 100 followers there will be a GIVEAWAY so please follow me :)

Meet the Anderson's

Well, I have finally made it into the blogging world, yeah!  I want to start by introducing you to my sweet little family.  I have been married to Jake for 13 years, woah how did that happen?  We have 2 kids, McKenna is 10 and Kobe is 7.

We are all a little nutty!

Here is a normal picute of us, I just had to post that silly one cause I LOVE McKenna's face!

We just spent the weekend in St. George, we were there to celebrate my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary!  It had been a good 7 years or so since I had seen some of my family, so it was nice to get to visit with everyone.

These are just some of my cousins along with Grandma and Grandpa

Kobe kept popping up in all my pictures.

There he is with Papa Ray and Granny Maurine :)

I don't know where he comes up with these sneaky ideas...

On the drive down I realized that I resemble E.T. quite a bit

And THAT doesn't help!

E.T. phone home :)

Back to the Anderson's.  Kobe and McKenna are both competitive gymnasts and spend a good chunk of their lifes at gymnastics.  I also spend a good chunk of my life at the gymnasium, but not doing fancy tricks...well, sometimes I do ;)

I have conviced Jake to do the Ragnar Relay with me and some of our friends in June.  And to both of our surpise he is actually starting to enjoy the whole running thing.  He has always made fun of me for torturing myself but I guess the endorphins got the best of him.

Kobe is the child who thinks I am hilarious and laughs at all of my "jokes" and Kenna is the one who is embarrassed by her mother, I do not know why...

You may ask why on earth we are wearing the same suit...I had the same question

Don't worry we didn't mean to show up at the pool in the same suit it just happened.  Seems how we were the only ones at the pool in good ol' Hurricane, UT we didn't really care.  But rest assured it will not happen again!!

Sorry that my very first post is complete randomness.  I promise it won't happen again.  Also, please ignore any grammar or spelling errors, I never said I was an English major just a personal trainer and sometimes I need to flex a little harder to concentrate, at least that's what my friend Suzee tells me quite often.  I promise this is a fitness blog so if you are disappointed that you didn't get any inspiring words of wisdom about health and fitness then please stay tuned.  It will come!  Actually, here is what I did for my workout for today:

I started out with a nice little shoulder and abs workout for 50 minutes.  I then headed into the cardio cinema room and ran for 2 miles for a warm-up.  Then did 10 quarter mile repeat sprints, each sprint followed by a quarter mile at 8 mph.  After my 5 miles of intervals I did another 2 miles, for a total of 9 miles.  Last but not least I headed into a killer abs class with Deb, she is AMAZING and makes us hold planks for about 45 minutes ;) I am so sad because Gold's is doing away with all classes at the Provo location.  So this was my last abs class, oh how my abs will miss the torture :(

Now I want to learn a little bit about you

Tell me about your weekend, did you do anything fabulous or dress the same as your buddy ;)

Do you resemble an alien or any kind of life form?