WHALE SHARK swimming and 10 MILES in prep for our marathon.

Whale sharks.

 

It wasn’t until we were about 10 minutes away from jumping in the water that I started freaking out.  I knew I would be nervous but coming up to these HUGE whale sharks was something else.  I wore a life vest and had the tour guide hold my hand for the first few minutes in the water and then just like that… I wasn’t afraid anymore.  Once I saw that the whale sharks were pretty chill and that I could breathe (I was having some weird panic attack about my snorkel gear being broken;) I was totally fine and it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done by far.

We went with Ocean Tours out of the Maya Riviera.  Andrew did his research with all of the different reviews of different tours and this one was amazing.  We left at about 8:30, they fed us breakfast and then we jumped on the boat for about an hour and went out 18 miles to the whale sharks.

As you can tell… I had no idea there would be so many of them and that we would be so close to them.   When we jumped in there was one of them just a few feet away from us.  It was crazy.

We had a great group of people on our boat.  One couple was there for their wedding and this activity was everyone’s favorite thing that they did while in Mexico.

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Turns out taking a selfie with a whale shark is a lot harder than I thought it would be.

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Andrew is better at it.

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Yep.

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CAN YOU BELIEVE how big those are?!?  Andrew loved swimming underneath them.  I did not dare to.. I was happy just swimming right next to them.

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I loved staring at their gills and would get so wrapped up in following one around and studying it and then all of the sudden I would turn around and there would be another one right next to me.  I would say we saw at least 20 over the course of the day.

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And just a few more pics of us swimming with our buddies.

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Afterwards… that was a lot of swimming.

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After that we went to Isla Mujeres and they gave us shrimp ceviche and guac.  If you are ever in the area, you need to go and try this.

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Oh and the pineapple before we left was out of this world good.  That is all.

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Okay, let’s talk about yesterday morning.  Andrew and I went out for our long run after a week of forgetting about running, sleeping in, eating every piece of food we came across and so yesterday’s run was tough.  It made for some good motivation to get us back into the swing of life again and training.

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Then we went to pick up our kiddos when they woke up.  It felt SO so good to be all together again.  It had been way too long.

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We got a lot of errands done and at one point in Costco I saw this scene and it melted my heart.  They are pretty happy to be back together again.

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Andrew made a ridiculously good salad last night.  It was out of this world… fresh corn, carrots, baked beans, onions, grilled chicken, bbq sauce and ranch.

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PS a few people asked for a better picture of our Oreo chocolate bar.. here it is! If you ever come near one, please purchase it.

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PPS WINNER of the LG SideKick giveaway——>  CATHERINE KNOLL!!! Congrats girl and email me asap:)

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How are you spending your Sunday?

Have any fears?  Done anything that you were really afraid of going into?  

Favorite chocolate bar that you have ever tried?

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51 comments

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Sharks are one of my fears but I surf and swim with them anyway because how else can you get over fears right?

Nothing beats a Reese’s peanut butter cup….unless it’s on a Wendy’s vanilla frosty! Try it!

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Sharks are one of my fears but I surf and swim with them anyway because how else can you get over fears right?

Nothing beats a Reese’s peanut butter cup….unless it’s on a Wendy’s vanilla frosty! Try it!

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I have a fear of swimming in the ocean. I can’t really swim. Just do the doggie paddle but I did a triathlon that involved a 300 meter swim in the ocean two summers ago. One and done! But I am proud of myself.

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Sounds like a great adventure!

I’m painting of office today – fun!

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I think it would be super hard for me to go swimming with sharks. Oh my goodness, I feel like anytime one would come near me, I’d freak out. It’s a dream of mine to go swimming with dolphins!

The best chocolate = Cadbury. Not from the US, UK, or anywhere else but Australia. That stuff is the best. While living here, I settle with Godiva :)

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My biggest fear are snakes but I’d say that’s warranted considering I live in the desert!

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It sounds like you are truly enjoying the married life and the honeymoon. I actually did my senior marine biology project on whale sharks so I’m jealous you got to swim with them.

My biggest fear is turkeys. These guys are fast and they are mean creatures.

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It took me a while ti get comfortable snorkeling, but now I love it. I’d love to swim with whale sharks. Milka is the best!

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Swimming with whale sharks looks amazing, but I would be freaking out too. Sharks = one of my biggest fears.

I love the pixture of Brooke and Knox- so adorable!!

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Those pictures are AWESOME! Did you use an underwater camera case? Or did you have a special water proof camera for the occasion?

This Saturday I woke up way too early for my long run — and spent the rest of the day devouring everything in site and resting. I’m also starving and super sleepy on long run Saturdays!

So glad your whole family is back together! You all make a gorgeous unit and I can’t wait to see the holiday pics this winter! I’m predicting matching sweaters and reindeer antlers/ears…

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The honeymoon and sharks sound amazing! I am so glad you were able to let go and gave a great time. Thank you for sharing… and WOW, that salad!

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Wow those whale sharks are big!! So cool that you could swim right next to them. But honestly I think I would be terrified.

8 mile run this morning was so hot and humid. I need to get up earlier next weekend!

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Thanks for posting the picture of your candy bar. My girls agreed that we need those. Our new mission is to find them.

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Fish in general freak me out a little. One time in lake Powell I had the little baby fish come and nibble on my toes and since then they just weird me out. So last year when I went to the Bahamas on a cruise, we went snorkeling and I realized that it’s not really the fish that scare me its that I can’t see them coming.. Or maybe it’s because lake fish are really ugly and ocean fish are more pretty.

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Janae — what earbuds to you recommend for iPhone/iPod? Would love your recommendation!
Thanks so much!

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Sunday will be filled with a long run, mowing the lawn, and getting ahead before the week starts tomorrow. I went snorkeling with manatees once and it was really fun…whale sharks sound even cooler! :) I didn’t think I was scared of heights, but when I went sky diving, I was really scared as soon as they opened the door of the plane. The guy who was attached to me had to peel my hand off of the door to get me to go. :)

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I didn’t love snorkeling, I’m kind of a baby lol. But I loved ziplining!

I see Knox has caught on to the best part of Costco, the Berry smoothie. I see someone from my husbands family pretty much every Costco trip

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I only recently overcame my fear of the deep end of the pool (lol) so I am not sure how well I would do with the whale sharks, but that looked amazing!!

And that salad looks so good! Baked beans on a salad? Why didn’t I think of that! I am so making this tonight for dinner!

I just finished a 16 mile run that felt amazing! It was so encouraging because last week my long run was pretty miserable. Glad you are reunited with your family! Happy Sunday!

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How fun!!

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Swimming with the whale sharks looks amazing! I had shrimp ceviche when I was in Belize on a snorkeling trip and it was amazing!!

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Wow, that looks amazing! My brother-in-law and sister-in-law went to Mexico to see sharks but they were not as lucky as you.

I’ve been to Isla Mujeres and it is absolutely gorgeous. It was my first (and only, really) time eating barracuda and it was delicious.

Looks like you had a fantastic time! :-)

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Trying to motivate to head to Costco. Dreading all the people standing in the way eating the free samples. Running tonight because it’s too hot and I am not a morning runner. Wish I was. Favorite chocolate bar is a plain old Hershey Bar.

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My husband and I did our long run together this morning too, which was great. He pushes me to go faster and I push him to run further. We make a good team.
I love Dark Chocolate, right now I’m loving Chocolove extra strong.
Enjoy those kiddos. That picture of them hugging is so sweet!!

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How fun!! So happy for you and Andrew!!!

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Shrimp ceviche, guacamole and pineapples? Yes, please! Swimming with whale sharks? No, thank you! I only like fish on my plate haha ;-) Seriously, I do love fish and my son does too. We’ve been to gigantic aquariums and we’ve seen very impressive fish before but I am not ready to trust them enough to jump into their environment ;-) Just finished a 15 miler in the heat… Strenght and endurance building for a fall marathon!

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OMFG I would be so terrified of the diving thing!!! I dived in high school as part of a special class and I HATED it!!! I was terrified (even in the high school pool!) and felt all out of control and like I was drowning! I held up the whole class like 10 minutes while I was flipping out the day we were supposed to flood our masks. OMG. And I will swim in the ocean and in lakes but the creepy crawlies in the water totally freaks me out!!! I did a massive ants in the pants freak out dance reading your post. AHHHHHHH! If I ever date again (doubtful right now) I really hope I don’t meet someone who likes diving!!! Ahhhh

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That is so cool!!! To see huge whale sharks that close up!
I’m actually afraid of heights and deep water…. I’m not sure how I conquered the three peaks cuz it was pretty sketchy and high in altitude.

Sunday- were about to head out to the beach for some stand up paddling time!!

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That looks like such an adventure! And btw – late congratulations on your marriage!

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Whale Sharks have sadly just been added to the endangered species list. :( You can read all about why here: http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/whale-shark

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GAHH! Snorkeling with whale sharks just got added to my bucket list! How amazing?!!!! I went scuba diving once and that was definitely out of my comfort zone (like you, I convinced the guide and anyone that would listen that my breathing gear was broken ;) It definitely made for a neat experience though.

I have all those ingredients for a salad so tell Andrew I plan to do my best an replicate ;)

10 miles is great! I huffed and puffed through TWO today. It’s so florida hot its ridiculous.

Welcome back and so excited for you and your new fam! :)

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OK. Now swimming with whale sharks is on my bucket list. That looks absolutely amazing! And I agree, the pineapple in Mexico is the best.

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WOW those whale sharks are beautiful. Last time I was in Mexico I did a swimming with the sting rays excursion. I later learned some really sad things about the sting rays they use and I would never do it again, but snorkeling and seeing all the beautiful sea life was amazing. The whale shark excursion sounds wonderful. It’s definitely something I would like to try next time I’m there for vacay!!! Thanks for sharing! :) What a beautiful honeymoon for you two!

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It looks like y’all had an amazing, adventurous time. I feel like swimming with the whale sharks was probably a good trust exercise for your marriage :) My husband and I went rappelling last fall and at first I was really nervous about, but I ended up loving it!

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Bats! The worst.

It looks like you had an amazing time.

Also, that salad looks so good. I want one right now.

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looks amazing! I’m also irrationally afraid of scuba diving. Are whale sharks always non-aggressive or are there certain rules they give you to not bother them? very interesting! seriously still soooo happy for you!!

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Hey Krista!! They were not aggressive in the slightest… I was amazed! They acted like we weren’t even there. They had rules for us such as no touching and no sunscreen (to avoid chemicals being in the water with them etc). You should seriously try it out sometime!

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The whole whale shark thing sounds amazingly terrifying. I would not have had the guts to swim under one, like andrew did, but that made for an amazing picture.

Ross has never made me a salad in the 13 years I have known him. He loves me a lot, but not enough that he would subject himself to making salads. So well done andrew and janae. Well. Done.

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Maybe Andrew can teach him how? Wouldn’t that be special. For our next double date we can do that.

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There’s not much I haven’t done. I don’t scare easily but I dislike balancing things…like doing a balance beam because I have lousy balance and I will fall. But just get back up and do it again.

I love scuba but it’s been forever since I went. I want so much to cage dive with Great Whites. Yes really. But I hate being on boats – only place I get motion sickness – and shark diving is very expensive and you still might not see them.

Finally, Milka is the best chocolate in the world followed by Ritter Sport. Shouldn’t be ruining it with Oreos. Milka should be enjoyed pure, just let it melt on your tongue.

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Whoa! Yeah, I’d probably be a bit freaked out about swimming with whale sharks too! Scariest thing I’ve done? Skydiving! You know, with my fear of flying, falling, and heights and all. ;)

It was a incredible experience and I’m happy to say I’ve done it. But, once was enough for me!

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Love those shots with the sharks! I would have been freaking out too. You guys look so so cute :)

Sunday was spent on the lake aka I didn’t do my long run but will make up for it tomorrow!

I HATE CLOWNS. Petrified. hate em hate em hate em.

I love cadbury eggs!

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We are planning a trip to swim with dolphins for a few months out that I am SO excited about! I’m not sure if I could swim with a shark though. That looked out of this world! Our Sundays are always the same grocery shopping, church, and pizza. Sundays are my favorite though.

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Once I saw that the whale sharks were pretty chill and that I could breathe .

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Congrats on your wedding and honeymoon. That looked like an awesome trip. I was reading your post and my 4 year old walked by and screamed she’s swimming with Destiny. We recently have seen Finding Dory.

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On Sunday I hosted brunch at my house for some girls that I went to high school with. One of the girls I’ve known since elementary school and we were BFFs in the 5th grade…that would be 40 YEARS AGO!!!!

My husband and I want to swim with sharks; the kind where you are in a cage. But these whale sharks look amazing and I might have to add it to the list. We’ve gone sky diving, done 2 hot air balloon rides, hiking up Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park (although we didn’t make it all the way to the top), we’ve hiked up 5 of the waterfalls in Yosemite, etc. We loved to do adventurous stuff like that.

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Swimming with the whale sharks looked absolutely adrenaline-filled & amazing!!! I don’t know if I would be more nervous or excited if it had of been me! And I’m glad that Andrew finally got to cross that off of his list :)

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I would be sooo scared to swim with those whale sharks!! but it sure looked like such a thrill!

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OMG I LOVE WHALE SHARKS!!! Haha they were part of a paper I wrote on migrating sharks in college! I was a marine biology major. SO COOL!

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I live in Germany and you can get milka oreo chocolate bars at every grocery store there! It’s so good…I really have to control myself in order not to buy it all the time haha

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so cool.. I’m a little nervous for you even just looking at the pictures haha but I guess they’re not aggressive?

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