Training for my next 1/2 marathon

 just finished the surf city 1/2 marathon and its time to start getting ready for the next one! if youve ever wanted to run a 1/2 marathon but didnt know where to start, here is an easy guide to follow come train with me!



MySpace-Countdown-Clocks

i start training on February 21st

Week Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Total

   1        3   Rest  3     3   Rest 4 Rest 13

   2        3   Rest  4     3   Rest 5 Rest 15

   3        3   Rest  4     3   Rest 6 Rest 16

   4        3   Rest 5      3   Rest 8 Rest 19

   5        3   Rest 5      3   Rest 10 Rest 21

   6        4   Rest 5      4   Rest 11 Rest 24

   7        4   Rest 6      4   Rest 12 Rest 26

   8        4   Rest 5      4   Rest  9  Rest 22

   9        3   Rest 4      3   Rest  8  Rest 18

  10       3   Rest 3      3   rest      13.1 21.1

photos of you being active with your pets!

Its not just about humans getting active, pets too!! Share photos of you being active with your pet, your pet being active or adventures you have shared with them. email the photos plus a brief description about the image and info about your pet to heather.pappas@yahoo.com

after i have a collection of photos ill add a pole for friends to vote on there favorite images!

xo
heather and moose

                                  Moose
I am Heather, and this is my sidekick moose, our favorite thing to do together is go for walks! Walks to the park, on the beach around fashion island this loveable guy goes everywhere with me!

                                      Ruff life crew
Walter and his Ruff Life! I walk from 2 to 5 dogs at a time, for an hour a day, twice a day. I lOVE it! I prefer the boardwalk for the scenery and all the smiles my dogs bring to peoples faces. I am lucky enough to do what I love for a living...check out our Facebook page and become a fan...http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ruff-Life-Dogs/116621725069185

                                   Ace
I am Amy, and this is my French Bulldog Ace. We love to go for walks, run on the beach, and go to Muttropolis at Fashion Island. Our little guy is one special dude.

                                                 Diego and Tahoe
I am not in front of the camera playing with pets .. being a Pet Photographer .. I'm the one who takes the photos of people and their pets! When I'm not photographing pets .. I am usually hanging with my two love bugs .. my boys Tahoe and Diego! We are usually snuggling or learning new tricks and just hanging out together!

-Susan Uston Pet Lifestyle Photography

                                          Bruiser
catch me if you can! weee!!!!

                                          maxee
i love the beach and my mommie! we have so much fun together!

                                         Roxy and peanut
having a play date at dog beach! 

i couldnt pass the run test in jr high...

I used to be the girl who couldn't run a mile in ten minutes... although i was a competitive swimmer when it came to the jr. high school PE test i couldn't finish in under 10 minutes. its been way to many years to remember what i ran it in, but i probably walked a lot of it and went over the 10 minute mark...big deal i hated PE, jr. high the uniforms, the odd teacher and the track... although i had to cross train for swimming when i became a teen i still hated it, however i did well in jr. lifeguards my swimming really made up for my lack of running skills. one of my best memories is winning the monster mile for my age group and gender at the age of 10. you run a mile then swim a mile... real fun huh (well i liked it)! so i've always been competitive just not a runner so ironically i'm no longer swimming but running. 9 days away from the surf city 1/2 marathon and i'm feeling excited! my goal running pace is again ironically a 10 minute mile...the girl who couldn't even run one ten minute mile has a goal of running 13 of them without walking. again ironic. i hear a lot of people say they just cant do it, they cant run, yes you can, i say it on here all the time but ill say it again, YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO.

its better with a friend!

Running with a friend is just more fun! Yesterday was a planned 10 mile run from Newport to dog beach in HB and back on a beautiful 70 degree day in January.... picked up my running BBF and ran our last 10 miles before the surf city 1/2 marathon in two weeks. Running together doesn't mean you have to run with each other, we actually only start together and meet up after the run even with this its just more inspiring then running alone. When were done we talk about the people we saw, how we felt at a certain spot what were going to get for breakfast and so on... 2 weeks out of my 2nd 1/2 marathon and i'm feeling great on this run i focused on maintaining my pace i couldn't have been happier looking at my results and seeing that my pace stayed within 30 seconds for every mile. feeling great about myself and about my run its a great place to be in right now. Running, working out with friends, being active together its a great thing to share with those you care about!

waiting for my running BFF enjoying some sun and watered down gatorade in my I <3 running sigg.

the lesson of "i cant"

learning the lesson of "i cant" I was about 12 years old swimming competitively under in my eyes the best coach in the world, work outs were fun and exciting. This certain coach wasn't my daily coach he was the head coach and i swam in my age group with another good coach but on wednesdays the entire team swam together with this great coach...he really knew how to inspire and push you. One night i made the memorial mistake of saying "i cant" the world stopped my coach leaned over and said, "what did you say?"...me "i cant" i then learned there is no such thing as "i cant" he then put me in the small pool with the 5-6 year olds... lesson learned... i never said "i cant" again! Thanks coach this has stayed with me my entire life!

Ten miles to graceland

ten miles to graceland, i am always feeling sore, I'm going to be 30 in less the three months...BTW how did that happen i feel like I'm 15 on summer break. So the fact is when i go for a run, something is always hurting its just how it is now. three weeks from 1/2 marathon number two, the one I'm trying to raise money for RUN FOR MOBILITY (surfcity) (still looking for sponsors http://fwm.kintera.org/run2011/heatherargueta) and training is all down hill from here. Today i ran 10 miles its january and 70+ degrees out and running my favorite spot back bay nothing makes you feel more blessed then the beauty and ability of todays run. i pushed out the pain of my ouchies and ran the whole ten miles without stopping, that is my one rule i never stop and walk if i feel tired i slow down but i will never walk. I believe i got this from all the years of great coaching while swimming competitively and i am so grateful for that. All running is, is mind over body. For anyone who says they cant run it is in there mind telling them they cant, YES you can, you can do anything you put your mind to. While on a run i dream of happy things, my husband, eating hosum bistro for lunch, my moose...all i have is my play list and my thoughts and before you know it your half way to the finish, then only a 1/2 a mile to being done and then its over. and once your done you feel accomplished weather it is your first time running again, or like today 10 miles... it feels so good to have done something out of your box of comfort.

My happy things to think about...

first half marathon 2:18.13

After a week of not running due to a small cold i last minute Friday night around 8 pm decided to run my first half marathon the next morning.  I mean why not i enjoy a challenge and i needed to run anyway.  With my husband, dog and a green berry shakeology in hand we sleepily headed to Irvine at 630. This being a small race with just over 4,000 runners i could register before the race i lined up just before 8am and some how ended up close to the starting line. Wearing my garmin watch i could keep track of my pace and time the first 3 miles i knew i was going out way to fast but stuck in the front of the pack i was being pushed and it felt great all under 9 minutes...and then it hit me i hadn't run all week and my conditioning wasn't there so it started i lost my pace and gradually i ran slower and slower i knew at 6 miles i wasn't going to be beating my 2 hour goal and at 8 miles i was hoping i could even hit 2 hours and 15 minutes. Without walking running the ENTIRE race except when i stopped to drink all the water and juice i could inhale at the water stations i finished in 2:18.13.  Only a few minutes over the 2:15 mark i wanted to finish in.  

here is my Garmin reading

Summary 02:18:09 pace10:29

1 00:08:55 1.00

2 00:08:55 1.00 

3 00:08:58 1.00 

4 00:09:43 1.00 

5 00:09:43 1.00 

6 00:10:18 1.00

7 00:10:27 1.00 

8 00:11:03 1.00 

9 00:11:31 1.00 

10 00:11:31 1.00

11 00:11:40 1.00

12 00:12:05 1.00

13 00:11:44 1.00

14 00:01:30 0.17 

this was taken i think near the finish for the last 7 miles i had been having mental battles with myself.... talking myself into not stopping not walking and not giving up all things i kept thinking of. the battle wasnt physical it was mental. as much as i hurt at the time this photo was taken as soon as i crossed the finish line the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment took me over.