noBOLOGNA

With just a bit of pixie-dust, maybe I won’t give up!

A lot of things made tonight a really great night.  First of all, when I got off work I went home and got a good run in.  Nick and I are of course doing a challenge because we both need to get our rears in shape!  We’re doing 100 miles in 100 days, but it only counts when you reach your pace goal.  My personal pace goal is a 10:15 mile.  Nick’s is something absurd like 8 minutes and something seconds.  So far I’m at 3 miles complete.  So I did 2 miles today and it felt good.  After my run, I came home to a birthday card in the mail from my best friend who now lives in Colorado and a sweet birthday care package from my blog bestie, Meg, that was filled with tons of fun things to enjoy this week (more on that later)!  I also went grocery shopping tonight, which always makes me happy!  I got some great stuff for lunches this week and enjoyed one of my egg & cheese bagels for dinner.  Right now, I’m blogging and watching Tangled.  You see?  Great night!

Now, I’m having a difficult time with something at the moment…. you remember that bike ride I’m doing to raise money for diabetes?  Yeah, me neither pretty much!  Just kidding, I do remember it… because y’all, I’m sort of freaking out!  I’ve only raised $37 out of the $200 I MUST have in order to even ride!  On top of that, I haven’t trained at all.  It’s a month away.  Now, let’s be honest…. I told them that there was no way on this green earth that I will survive a 50 mile bike ride in a month, so now I’m signed up for the 25 mile bike ride.  I think I’ll be able to manage.  The truth is though, I’m not very motivated to do it at all.  I’m pretty sure that Nick and I are going to Florida immediately after the race (his brother is moving there, yay!  More Disney for us!) and I just don’t want to trek my bike back and forth or have to get a place to stay in NOLA (because our free place fell through).

So today’s INSPIRING topic is about “pushing through” because clearly, I need this talk myself!  When I did the Disney College Program, I was tempted to quit more times that I can count on my hand.  I didn’t though… I pushed through.  Granted, I pushed through because of the amazing people in my life who convinced me to stick it out and seriously, I’m so grateful for that encouragement!  I specifically remember sitting at dinner one night, at my favorite pizza place in Orlando, Flippers, and talking with Nick, his brother, and sister-in-law when they were in town for Spring Break.  At this point, I was dead set on leaving.  I don’t exactly remember the precise words his brother used, but they were so compelling that I knew I’d end up staying (even though I didn’t want to).  I have no doubt it was something along the lines of regret because that is truly what it boiled down too – I was certain I’d regret leaving.  Now, that wasn’t the last time I thought about leaving… it came up a few other times, but in the end… I’m so thankful for the conversation and the power it had to keep me at Disney.

*I may use my Disney College Program experience a little too much these days lol, oh well*

With just a little bit of pixie-dust, maybe I’ll reach my $200 limit & be well-trained for the race!

The question is…. Will I regret not doing this race?  Chances are, I will.  The cause is close to my heart – my best friend growing up dealt with and continues to deal with Diabetes.  The money is going towards the education and resources for diabetes education.  I’ll get a good 25 mile workout from it right before sporting my swim suit in Florida.  Basically, I need to stick it out.  I need to push through.  I will feel better about myself and the cause if I do it.

Do you struggle with this?  Do have a situation where you gave up on something and ended up regretting it?  Do you have a situation where you didn’t give up on something and you’re thankful that you did?  What about….. a situation where you gave up and you DIDN’T regret it?

Any words of encouragement will be greatly appreciated as I continue to “push through” and raise money for a great cause while training for this 25 miles!   By the way, if you haven’t donated, but would like too (even something as small as $1 or $5 will be greatly appreciated!), then CLICK HERE!  Or… if you have a free place for me to stay Friday night, May 9th, in New Orleans, that would be appreciated as well!

Y’all have a wonderful Monday evening, go make your life better by watching a Disney Movie!

Perfect Time for Training!

Happy Friday!  I’m looking forward to a great weekend, hopefully you are too!! Here in Mississippi, the weather is FINALLY starting to warm up and I’m getting myself outside for some great runs.  I will admit though, it’s not exactly easy right now. Over the past few months, I’ve barely worked out…. ever since the worst race of my life, I’ve been completely unmotivated.  Luckily, as a vegetarian, I eat pretty healthy, so I haven’t gained a ton of weight, I’ve been pretty steady, but I’m ready to get my butt in gear and lose some of this extra weight I don’t want.

I personally prefer a good run outdoors.  This is why I’m so excited it’s finally warming up enough to thoroughly enjoy an outdoor run!  I thought it would be the PERFECT time to share with y’all a few training plans in case you’re looking to do a race in the coming weeks.  Hopefully this will inspire some of you who have been afraid to get out there run to just do it!  For others of you who have been there and done that, maybe you’re looking to amp up your next race to a half-marathon or full-marathon.  Or….. maybe you’re like me and want to get way out of your comfort zone and do a triathlon! *kudos to you, by the way!*

When it comes to a good training plan, I look for a few different things:
– Easy to read.  Maybe that’s lame, but I like to look at an appealing schedule.  Not one that is difficult to understand, looks crowded and junky, and doesn’t get me excited about the program.
– Lots of cross-training.  I don’t believe you can successfully train for a good race without a decent amount of cross-training involved.  You need to build up your strength to improve!
– The source.  It depends on who the source is as to whether or not I’ll use the plan.

I found a good plan for each type of race below, so you don’t have to go searching for your own.  Maybe all it’ll take is me just mentioning it to you to realize that yes… you should grab one of these training plans to get started on that workout routine for the summer!

5K Training Plan

10K Training Plan
10K Intermediate Training Plan

Half-Marathon Training Plan

Full-Marathon Training Plan

Triathlon Training Plan*
*Not a big fan of how this training plan is displayed because it doesn’t have lines dividing the sections, but I think this would have been a great training plan for my beginning tri that I did last year.

Happy Training friends!! Hopefully your weather is beginning to cooperate as well!! I’m off to Starkville this weekend, lots of relaxing and great friends in store for me!  They have Relay for Life this weekend too, so I’ll more than likely be out there for that!

When blogging hurts!

Good morning!  I’m blogging on a Saturday.  Crazy, I know! I don’t remember the last time I blogged on a Saturday.  I really wanted to sleep in this morning.  I enjoyed not setting an alarm clock, but of course, I didn’t sleep much past my usual time.  I woke up around the time I’d be heading off to work.  I started having a lot of back pain – I know that I really need a new mattress.  Any suggestions, friends?

I have my vegetarian sausage biscuits in the oven and my coffee brewing.  I have a lot of things I want to work on today before Nick gets in town – I need to clean my room.  I need to write a lot of blog posts for this inspired idea I have for April.  I need to go on a long bike ride to get ready for my Tour de Cure.  There are probably a few other things I’d like to get done.  Right now though, I’d like to talk about when we get our feelings hurt and what that means for us and how we can respond.  The truth is, there is something I’ve been struggling with in blogging specifically.  I’m not going to provide a lot of details because I, in turn, wouldn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable or hurt anyone’s feelings, but the truth is…. I’m hurt.  I’m not hurt by just one blogger, I’m hurt by a few bloggers.  They probably don’t even know that my feelings are hurt and that’s okay.  It wouldn’t resolve any issues if they did.

But how do I move past this and continue to enjoy blogging?

First of all, I know the truth is that I’ve hurt a blogger at some point or another.  I’m sure I’ve said something that rubbed someone the wrong way or I didn’t include them when I should have.  Whatever the reason may be, I know I’ve been the one to hurt another person before.  This fact doesn’t make my hurt go away though.

One thing I need to realize is WHY I blog.  Do I blog for others or do I blog for myself?  I like to believe that I blog for myself, but we, as bloggers, all know that somewhere down the road that’s not the case.  We end up blogging for others.  That’s not a terrible thing, but it puts our emotions more at risk.  When we’re concerned about others involvement and we don’t get the response we would like, then we get hurt.  In my case, I feel that others are not being conscious of blogging etiquette.  Blogging etiquette is important and it’s what keeps blogging fun and enjoyable for all those we blog with.  I found this post from Jennifer @ Dancing in the Rain that I thought was spot on.  Confessions of a Blogger: The Etiquette Edition.  There are just things that I find to be common courtesy and it baffles me that others wouldn’t think the same thing.  We’re all different though and our minds work differently.

As I battle with my emotions during this time because I’m not completely happy with how certain things have transpired, I searched for some verses to help me along the way.  I have no idea if any of you are experiencing some of the hurts I am when it comes to blogging, maybe you’re hurting in other areas of life, but hopefully these verses can be encouraging to you as they are to me.  The truth of the matter is: I can’t say anything to these bloggers – there would be no point in my opinion.  All I can do is be an adult about it, share my thoughts and opinions here on my own blog, and move on.  I cannot be defined by what others do.  I can continue to practice blogging etiquette myself because I know that’s how I would like to be treated.

Do you have any thoughts on this subject?  Anything you’re experiencing with blogging that deals with the hurt that can come along with it as well as the lack of blogging etiquette from other bloggers you see?

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:6-7

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”  – Colossians 3:13

“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”  – Romans 5:3-5

I’m working on my own heart – letting it be free of the pain.  Finding peace and rest in the Lord.  I’m trying to direct myself off of the fact that others may be hurting me and try to respond with “What can I continue to do through blogging that will help, encourage, & inspire others?”  Just like everything else in life, blogging will never be perfect.  There will always be people who rub me the wrong way, there will always be people who hurt me, intentional or not.  That’s vice versa – I have no doubt, I will in turn affect some one else in this way too.  I hope that’s not the case, but I know I’m human and I have struggles of my own.

How do you choose to combat the hurt that can come with blogging?  How do you choose to approach situations where blogging etiquette is not being used?  I’d love your thoughts & opinions!

Have a wonderful Saturday and weekend, my friends!  Regardless of the pain, blogging will continue to be something that encourages and inspires me.  The friendships I’ve made are amazing and I wouldn’t give those up for anything!

 

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The views and statements expressed on No Bologna are my own. You are reading No Bologna at your own risk and I am not providing any type of professional advice. Unless otherwise noted, all material on No Bologna may not be used, reprinted, or published without my consent. I do occasionally have affiliated links on my blog - this does not raise the price of the product, I simply get a very small commission from the regular retail price if something is purchased using an affiliated link on my site. I appreciate any support by you in regards to affiliated links.