2nd Annual Christmas Fun Run

Today marked the 2nd Annual Christmas Fun Run, AKA my favorite run of the year.  Last year this was my favorite non-race run and this year was even more so.  We woke up to a few inches of snow which on any other day we probably would have just gone to the gym for a treadmill run.  Today we put on our big girl pants elf suits and headed to Kneaders to meet up with a big group.

CHEEEEEESE!  Aren't we just a couple of jolly weirdos.  "We are Santa's elves, filling Santa's shelves, with a toy for each girl and boy, oh we are Santa's elves."

I really didn't think our fancy little shoes would stay on but they did and they kept our feet dry and warm.  Maybe I will wear them on every run...hmmm?

There were probably 30-40 runners.  

We ran up the canyon for a while, notice I said UP the canyon...in the snow!!!  Running up the canyon is hard enough but add inches of snow and it's REALLY hard!  The snow was falling the entire run which made it oh so magical.  We had quite a few slips and slides but amazingly we didn't fall, I fall on dry ground and the treadmill so I was certain I would go down at least once.  It must have been my #ElfPowers that saved me.

I was so happy to see the Santa gal, we felt kind of dumb that more people didn't dress up.

Last year the real fun started once we left the canyon and went into town.  I finally suggested that we turn around and head into Provo and Orem. 

Bill dressed up too :)  Isn't it a beautiful winter wonderland, I LOVE IT!!!

The roads were really bad and we saw a Suburban stopped on the side of road.  Naturally, we thought they were stuck or having car trouble.  Nope, the guy was standing outside of his car telling us how awesome we were and taking our picture.  He was great :)  Perhaps I can pay him to be our personal cheerleader on all our runs. 

We got lots of funny looks and saw A LOT of people taking pictures of us...good times.

We saw the Jolly Old Elf again.  I swear it was the same Santa we saw last year, he was hanging out the window just a wavin'! HO HO HO!

We turned onto University Parkway and headed into Orem.  The hill going up from the Olive Garden to Red Lobster seemed to go on forever, it's a HARD hill and nearly killed me off.

There was a lot of snow which at times made it very hard to run, we became stumbling fools a number of times...it was super dang funny.  People were laughing WITH us, not at us :)  I'm sure of it!

#ProCompression #ElfPowers #TheFanciestShoeCoversEver

Weesie Saturday ;)

We ended up with 16.25 miles in 2:32, I don't think it's ever taken me that long to run 16 miles.  It's amazeballs how much harder it is to run in the snow...TOTES MCGOTES!!!

This commercial makes me sooooo happy!!

Thank you Rachelle for putting together such a fun run.  I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!!!

How To Kick Your Own Butt!

Tuesday I did quite the leg workout.  I somehow convinced Holly that she wanted to take some videos of me doing the moves after we finished our KYT workout this morning.  Just FYI, I HATE seeing myself in videos and I REALLY hate hearing my voice.  On leg day I always warm up with 4 laps of walking lunges.  The first lap is done without weights, after that I grab 15 lb DB's.  Here is the rest of the leg workout:

Check out my Holiday lederhosen :)

15 Squats with big barbell

(go low and SQUEEZE your glutes at the top...TUSHY SQUEEZE!

30, or more, squat hold calf raises

(Squat down and HOLD it the entire time and do 30 calf raises.  These are kind of like seated calf raises only your quads will be burning too.  Keep going until your calves are burning, it may take more than 30.

30 Single leg bridges
(lift your tukus off the ground, the higher you go the better.  Put as much tension as you need on the bands and do 15 per leg.

 30 Glute push-backs
(keep your leg straight and get a full range of motion, lift your leg high.  I usually get the "shackles" as the attachment but for times sake I just stuck my foot in the strap.  15 per leg.

30 Pendulum lunges
This will make your quads BURN!
(lunge forward and back, this counts as one and I usually hold 15 lb DB's but for this "re-enactment" I did not...sorry I'm not sorry ;)

I didn't record the last one because it's pretty self explanatory but DO NOT forget this part.  Walking lunges with 15 lb DB's across the gym then do the wall-sit holding the weights on your thighs, hold for at least 1 minute.  Then lunge back to where you started from and do the wall-sit AGAIN!  If your legs aren't burning then you are doing something wrong.  Now repeat this entire workout 3 times.

After this workout I decided to head into the Cardio Cinema room and do some hill work.  I saw this workout on the Instagram and decided to give it a try.

Thanks sweats4sweets for the awesome tready routine.

 I started with a 2 mile warm up and then I started to climb.  I kept the speed at 7 mph and it was HARD.  I thought I was going to DIE!  To recover I just lowered back down to 0% incline and kept running.  I did 4 repeats at 15% but just jumped my feet off to the sides for 30 seconds to recover.  Then I ran 2.5 more miles.  I did 2 miles at 8 mph and cooled down the last .50 mile, for a total of 7.5 miles.   I left the gym feeling beat and AWESOME!  I absolutely love the way I feel after a hard workout.  There's something wonderful about kicking your own butt!

Needless to say I woke up SUPER sore this morning...I love that!

A Wonderful Workout And Christmas Song!!!

Sometimes you just get so incredibly shredded that you want to share your awesome workout with everyone.  Today I did a killer shoulder workout, I kind of LOVE working my shoulders.  This picture shows you just how shredded I really am, I hide it well.

I BE HUGE ;)

Here is the workout:

30 Squats with alternating shoulder presses

(holding 20 lb DB's with palms facing each other held just above your shoulders, squat and while you are coming up do a single arm shoulder press, squat and switch sides, repeat 30 times)

15 Seated Military presses

(I used a shoulder pulley machine at the gym 30 lbs, if using DB's I usually use 20's)

15 Side delt raises using resistance bands.

15 Hammer style(palms facing each other) front delt raises

(I used 12 lb DB's, start with weights by your side and raise them up to about eye level)

15 Bent over rear delt pulls

(With soft knees bend over keeping your back straight, if that makes sense, grab a 40 lb barbell a little wider than your shoulders and pull up towards your chest.  You want to work your rear delts so keep your elbows wide and in-line with your shoulders.

15 Upright row to press using 40 lb barbell

I'm not doing a very good job at describing these things so just google it :) you're welcome!

I guess this is why I don't post workouts very often, they're too hard to describe.

I gave the weights I used as an example, we are all different.  I'm sure plenty of you are laughing at the weights I used but it was hard for me so lay off...I kid!!

After this shoulder workout I went into the Cardio Cinema room and did a 9 mile progression run.  I started at 7 mph and for the first mile I bumped it up .1 mph every .25 mile.  Mile 2 was 7.4 and I bumped it up .1 every mile ending at 8 or 8.1 mph.  I cooled down the last .50 mile.  I'm still trying to regain my speed since my ding dang injury this summer, so by the end this was hard for me.

If you're looking for something for the runner in your life, it can be you, Aspaeris is having a big sale from 12/11-12/24.  You can get 40% off everything using promo code MERRY at Aspaerispivotshorts.com

I did a review of the Aspaeris Pivot Short HERE!!  I wear them mostly to recover in and I love them.  

Lastly, I have to share a Christmas song that I am in LOVE with.  It makes me cry a little bit and I like to run to it, enjoy!!

LOVE IT!!!

Thankful 13 Half Marathon 2013

Thanksgiving morning I had the opportunity to pace the Thankful 13 Half Marathon.  This was one of my favorite races of the year, next to the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon.  Unlike most Utah races this course doesn’t send you flying down a canyon, you have to earn your time on this one.  Another good thing about this race is that you don’t have to wake up in the middle of the night to catch a bus, nope you start and finish at the same point.   Holly and I paced the 1:50 group.

 

The race started right on time and we were off.  I was a bit nervous that I wasn’t going to be warm enough.  I tried out my new Nike jacket and wasn’t sure how warm it was going to be.

Here's Kenna modeling it for you.  It is quite possibly the softest thing EVA...it's smooth like butta!  It has thumb holes and is thin but it is VERY warm, perfect!  I picked it up at 26.2 Running Co. when we were there for packet pick-up.  I can't tell you how much I love this jacket, so I'm not going to try!!!

  By mile 2 I was warm, so Holly and I took turns holding each other’s junk so we could take off a layer.  This was no easy task but we somehow managed.  I had to lose my fancy turkey hat at this point as well.  It was driving me cray cray and my head was super hot…nobody likes a hot head!  Besides, I was having a panic attack because my airway was being cut off.  I tied the little suckers legs around my waist, it looked like he was pecking my bum :D  Cute bum where ya' from?

 

The course was absolutely beautiful, they had to change the course a little due to some construction and it was even better than before.  I hope the course will stay the same for next year, although according to my Garmin it was a bit short. 

 

There were signs all along the course showing what people were thankful for, I liked this a lot.  I REALLY liked one sign that said “I’m thankful for my ex-husband, thankful he’s an ex!”  HAHAHA, that caused me to have a fine chuckle.  I also saw a sign that my friend Jessica did, her dad beat colon cancer this year YAY!!!  It’s always nice to have something to read to distract yourself.  It’s also nice to be running behind a guy in a full on turkey costume, when he approached one photographer he did a funny little turkey move.  I missed it but Holly sure laughed about it, I can envision it and it was breath taking :D

 

Holly and I attempted to do a jump for one of the photographers, I can’t wait to see how this one turned out, as I flung my arms in the air to give myself a little boost I cracked Holly in the stick :D  I hit the pacing stick and nearly knocked the poor dear over, it was a travesty but might make for some good photography.  I will just add that our tutu’s looked super awesome in our shadows.

They looked awesomer (it's a word) when we were running.

The race was so well organized, everything was perfect!  Holly and I finished the race and wanted to even things out so we did 14 miles, it was FUN!!  We finished just in time for the push-up contest.

  I will NEVER win a race but I can win a push-up contest.  I WON and got a HUGE turkey!!!

Isn't it beautiful Clark?!?  I told you it was HUGE.

  I did 90 push-ups and my whole body was shaking, I’ve never had that happen before, maybe I was nervous ;)  I just need to enter more push-up contests and less running contests I guess ;)

Pacer group shot!  Becky, Weirdo #Uno, Julia, Rachelle and Weirdo #Dos.  Aren't our turkey hats dashing? 

Then I said something that made Holly angry and she came at me with an axe...WTHeck! 

Don't worry, I apologized and we're friends again.

Sadly, race season is over for a while here in Utah.  Luckily, Rachelle invited me to her 2nd Annual Christmas Fun Run, YIPEE!!!  I already know what I'm going to wear too and these little beauties are definitely going to be part of my ensemble, I love them!!!  I could quite possibly wear them every day this month!

These are going to sell out QUICK so if you want some follow this handy little link HERE and order yourself some.  If you use the promo code SNOW you will not only get 40% off but you will also get FREE shipping.  Don't say I never gave you anything (technically I'm not giving you anything but let's just pretend that I am) and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

 

Haunted Half Marathon 2013

Friday night (October 25th) before we went to bed I told Kobe that I would be waking him up at 5 a.m. so he could get ready for the big race.  He walked into my room at 4:56 a.m., apparently he was excited!!  We got all dressed up and headed out the door at 5:25, hopped in the car with Holly, Jorge and Kaden and headed up to SLC.

On the bus ride Kobe was quiet but super excited.  We got up to the starting line at 7, the race didn't start until 9 so we had some time to kill.  The weather was pretty much PERFECT.  It was cold at the starting line but not freezing like I thought it was going to be.  There was a headless horseman at the starting line which I thought was awesome, it was really cool.

These pictures are in no particular order, they are simply here for your enjoyment :)

The race started at 9:00 on the dot.  We started back by the 2:10 pacers but Kobe passed them pretty quick.  Kobe started the race a bit too fast, I kept trying to get the boy to slow down but that was no easy task.  He started to pass the 2:00 pacers which I knew was a mistake but there really was no stopping the boy.  At around mile 3.5 I told Kobe that if he didn't slow down he was going to be in big trouble.  He finally slowed down and we were doing good until around mile 6 when we decided to make a pit stop.  There was a line but I figured it would move fast...WRONG!  I don't know what people do in those Honey Buckets, quite frankly I don't want to know, but the line was not moving.  Pretty soon we saw Holly and Kaden, they hopped in line too.  Finally after we had been stopped for about 6 minutes we gave up and carried on.  I think our long stop did Kobe in, his legs were not very happy.  I could tell he was struggling but we just kept moving.

I LOOOOOVE IT!!

We stopped again near the Hogle Zoo and took off some layers of clothes, it was getting hot!  I was hoping that once we lost some layers it would help the boys but it didn't.  Kobe was not wanting to eat but I had to put my foot down and force feed the child ;)  I kid, I kid!  I gave up on the Shot Blocks and such and went straight for the Skittles, if you haven't tried the Dark Side Skittles do it today, they are the best.

Little running buddies.

There were some pretty nasty hills but overall I LOVED the course.  The hills were near mile 8, 9 and 10 (I think) these were rough miles.  At mile 11 or so there was a Honey Bucket so we stopped.  Again, the line was moving soooooo slow, maybe more than 1 port-a-potty would be good since people like to hang out in there.  We were stopped for another 5-7 minutes, seriously?!?

Finish line!

I kept telling the boys to pretend that we had just started our run and that we only had 2 miles left, they can do 2 miles in their sleep.  That didn't work.  People were amazed at the boys, they kept asking if they were doing the whole race....uh, yea!!  People even asked if Kobe was running the race when we were at the starting line, seriously?  No, I like to make my smeagoly son stand out in the cold for 2 hours so he can watch his mama start a race ;)

At one point Holly and I started getting a little nutty.

I was flying, check out that cape!

Love the fall leaves

Haunted Half Crew

Aaaaaand they're done!  The medals are awesome and even glow in the dark.

My very favorite part of the race was near the end when we got ready to enter the finish line area.  There were lots of trees with fallen leaves on the path, beautiful fall colors and then I looked up and saw a ginormous pumpkin face.  

How awesome is that??  Pretty dang awesome, if ya ask me!

Kobe kicked it into high gear at the finish line and we sprinted in.  Mama and Papa Jex were there cheering us on and McKenna and Jake were handing out medals.  We finished and I grabbed Kobe and gave him a big hug, I may have been a little teary!  We were starving so we went and grabbed some Little Ceasars pizza which was free for the runners, I never knew Little Ceasars could taste so good.  Kobe ate a couple of pieces of pizza and a couple of donuts, I've never seen the boy eat like he did at that very moment.  

We loved having Mama and Papa Jex there!!

We hung out with Mama and Papa for awhile and took some pictures.  The race finished at Memory Grove Park which is beautiful.  It was a great day, I loved the race and I especially loved running with Kobe!!!

Super Heroes!

Kobe's finish time was 2:32, my Garmin time was 2:16, I stopped my watch at our stops.  16 minutes worth of stops is a little cray cray but oh well, we finished and that's all that matters!

Christmas card option #1;)

Man cub and man child

Option #2

And Option#3...wait a minute Jake looks as if he is taking a dump so maybe we shouldn't use this one.

This was an awesome day, I loved every minute of it!  I would highly recommend this race.

Countdown to AWESOMENESS!

T minus 3 days until the big rodeo, or race, depending on where you pin your bib ;D  The day Kobe did his first 10K he decided that he was ready to do a half marathon.  Kaden decided that a half sounded like a good idea and decided to do it with Kobe. 

This pic was at the Freedom Run 10K..LOVE!

I informed them that one does not just wake up and run a half marathon and that they would have to train.  They still wanted to, I thought perhaps they were a little crazy and that after a couple of runs they would change their minds. 

I came up with a training plan and we got right to it.  We (Holly and I) eased them into it with a run/walk.  I’ll be truthful and say that the first few weeks were rough…really rough.  I tried to talk Kobe out of continuing on multiple occasions but by golly that boy is stubborn (don’t know where he get it, yes I do…from his DADDY ;)  The Saturday of our first 5 miler I actually told Kobe that I was giving him one more week and if things didn't get better that we had to be done.  Patience is a virtue my friend!  I had many days of being extremely inpatient and had to keep telling myself that the mere fact that they were out there trying was awesome in and of itself.  How many 10 year olds do you know that are willing to train for and complete a half marathon??

Get ready for a picture overload my friends...

This lovely picture was taken after one of our first runs.  Kobe sprinted around the church, leaving me in his dust, and then collapsed on the grass.  Death by running! 

One day we were running along and I saw a toy horse on the side of the road.  I found it funny for some reason, then I looked back to see Kobe picking it up.  Kobe finished the run carrying the ding dang thing.  The horse became our mascot.  (Did you notice it in the picture...don't confuse the horse with Koda ;)

Most of our runs ended with Koda and McKenna waiting for us in the front yard.  I so wish Kenna could have joined in on the fun but that darn gymnastics has done a number on her knees.  #gymnastsarepeopletoo McKenna's pediatrician told me when she was about 5 that her hips are aligned as such that she would be a FAST runner.  She did run the mile the fastest last year and was asked multiple times to join cross country.  One day I am sure she will take the running world by storm...is that a saying?!?  Either way, I'm sure she will. 

SELFIE SATURDAY!!  We were photo bombed by a biker. 

When Kobe is done running he is DONE and sits down wherever he may be.  It's actually quite funny. 

Lou is showing you how AWESOME Kobe's first 7 miler was.  That boy was on FIIIIIIRE!!  He kept telling me he was on fire and he was.  His last mile was his fastest and he wanted to keep going.  I wish all runs could be like that.

I told the boys to do the Monica pose, I guess they did it ;) 

Me and Koko Monicaning (yes, that’s a word) it up.  Don't worry it's not weird that I do the Monica pose like we are BFF's even though we have never met, it's normal. 

Selfie Saturday again, why is Kobe’s mouth always open?!? 

My favorite picture ever, I will cherish the time we have spent training for this race and I CAN NOT wait until Saturday!! 

Last Saturday we took the boys up Provo Canyon to enjoy the beautiful fall leaves.  Our canyon has been closed so we hadn't fully enjoyed the fall colors.  Kenna wondered what took us so long to run 8 miles but I guess when you throw a photo shoot in there it takes a long time.  

Nice bum where ya from?

Another favorite running picture, probably because you can’t see my ugly mug ;)

Throughout our training we often ran to Mama's house, I don't think I've ever seen her as much as in these past couple months.  We all looked forward to our visits.

As in any training cycle we had good runs and horrible runs but I wouldn't change any of it for anything in the world.

We are doing the Haunted Half which is sure to be a partay!  I can't wait to see how the boys do and I can't wait to see McKenna and Jake at the finish line handing out medals.

I'm actually a bit sad, okay I'm SUPER sad,  for this to be coming to an end.  Luckily, Kobe told me the other day that he wants to continue training and do the Thankful 13 as well.  So let's keep our fingers crossed that he loves it and will continue on.

That's all!

Time For A Cleanse!

I’m sure you have all heard about the juice cleanse craz that all the cool kids are doing.  Well, I decided to go ahead and jump on that band wagon.  That’s right, I asked good ol’ Dr. Noodle (AKA Google) all about a one day cleanse.  I came across this website, the complete idiot’s guide…sounds about right.  I chatted with Holly about it, Jorge is big into juicing so we knew he would be excited about it. 

On Saturday Jake, Holly and I headed to Costco to purchase oodles of fresh fruits and veggies.

There's more, I just couldn't get it all in the shot.

Jake was going to participate but decided on the way to Costco that it wasn't really going to do him any good.  My reason for doing said cleanse was to reset myself.  I have had lots of horrible sugar cravings and Big Mac Attacks as of late and I wanted to flush all the bad out and start fresh.  I thought a day full of vitamins and nutrients would do me good.  It would set me up to start eating a bit cleaner.  Jake had no intention on changing his eating habits so why bother.  I think he actually changed his mind at least 15 times in about a 30 second time frame, if you think I'm kidding I'm NOT!

I woke up Sunday to this lovely message.

I drank my glass of warm HOT lemon water, I burned my flipptiy flappin' tongue, and headed on down to the Garcia residence.

Juice numero uno consisted of carrots, red bell pepper, celery, romaine lettuce, the juice of one lemon and a Fuji apple.  All I could taste was the bell pepper for.the.rest.of.the.day!!!

I had to suck down my juice quite quickly which made for a not happy tummy.  

I was SUPER full when Holly texted beckoning me down to make my lunch time juice.  I thought being that juice #2 was only grapes and strawberries that I would like it.  5 cups of grapes and 15 strawberries=not too great.  It was way too sweet.  I forced myself to drink about half of it but that was all I could handle.  I would surely barf had I finished the thing.  I put the remaining juice in the fridge thinking I would finish it later.  Well friends, later never came.

YUCK!

I went to church even though I was VERY nauseous.  It was the Primary program otherwise I would have stayed home.  I decided I would stay until Kobe did his part and then I would leave.  You know when your mouth gets all watery right before you throw up???  Gross, I know, but that was happening pretty much the whole hour I was at the church house.  I thought I was going to lose it a few times.  Thankfully, I made it through the first hour, just barely, then I zipped on home. 

Holly texted me a little while later saying that she was home and had juice #3 ready for me.  The mere thought of drinking one more ounce of juice made me sick.  I sauntered down to her house and told her that I was DONE!  

I felt like I had the stomach flu, I never threw up but man did I come close.  I knew I would be spending most of the day in the bathroom but I did not sign up for the nausea.  I wanted to be cleansed to an extent but this was taking things a little too far.

Out of four 32 ounce juices I made it through 1 and a half #FAIL.  I guess it wasn’t really a fail because what I did drink definitely cleaned me out. 

I ate some toast, oatmeal and a pear and that was that.  I woke up feeling great!  Will I do it again? The verdict is still out on that.  Did it do what I wanted it to?  I suppose it did and then some, colonoscopy anyone ;)  Do I want to go home and have some juice?  NO freaking way!! I’m glad I didn’t snatch up the Jack LaLanne juicer I was scoping out on KSL.  Jorge has a Jack LaLanne Juicer which is what we used and it is AMAZING!

I will say that if you have any interest in doing a cleanse, do it the right way.  Make your own juice with nothing added.  There are lots of cleanses you can buy but doing it this way is cheaper and #awesomerawness! 

Now I will make better choices when it comes to what I stuff in my pie hole.  I will also be sure to order these right quick!!  All those vitamins have made me so smart...obviously!

I LOVE!!!

You can use promo code CHV and get yourself some for 40% off but hurry because inventory is limited and this offer expires September 30, 2013.  Go to ProCompression.com and get some quick!!  You can also get sleeves in the chevron design.