I feel like I’ve been slacking in the whole blogging department as of late.  I’m sure you’re all interested in what’s been happening in my life lately so I thought I’d bring you up to speed.
{Side note: You may not really care}

Big Brother
Are y’all loving this show too?!  I’ve been a Big Brother fan for a while and this season has been stellar!  Aaryn is freakin’ idiot.  Can’t stand her!! She has no brain.  I surprisingly really enjoy Elissa.  I couldn’t stand Rachel, so I assumed I’d feel the same way but this girl actually has a heart and a sweet spirit (from what I can tell).  I’ll be watching the episode from tonight in the morning, so don’t spoil anything for me yet!

Packing
Yes… dreadfully, I’m packing up my apartment.  It’s bitter-sweet, honestly!  My apartment is a hott-freakin-mess!  I’m stressed out about where all my mail will go and if it will get lost.  I’ll do the whole forwarding address, but what if something gets lost!?

Hot-freakin-mess

The Office
So… I never actually watched through the seasons of the Office.  I’m doing it now though and I’m loving it! I’m loving Jim & Pam’s relationship and how it developed.  Michael Scott is a idiot… like literally…. drives me crazy, but makes me laugh hysterically all the time!

Running
Only a few more weeks until my Half training begins, woo hoo I’m pumped!!  It’s going to be the greatest plan ever!  I got it from Self Magazine.  For the next few weeks, I’ll be doing some runs based on time, not distance to prep for the start of my training!

Bloggers Helping Bloggers
I can’t express how much I already love this!  I have been paired with Sarah all month and she’s just fabulous and we’ve gotten to know each other, been praying for each other, and I got a super sweet card in the mail!  I hope others are having the same experience I am or even a better one!  If you haven’t signed up yet, there is still time!!

My interview!
So…. I had an interview earlier this week and y’all… it would be P.E.R.F.E.C.T!  It wouldn’t make as much money as I’d like, but I’d have time to make supplemental income in other ways and it would give me great flexibility to pursue other dreams and enjoyments such as crafting and blogging!  I don’t know if I’ll get it, but I’ve been praying for God to steer me in the right direction.  I’ve had immense response from my wonderful blogger friends and y’all have been praying for me and I greatly appreciate it!  I hope to find out this week though, so keep the prayers coming if you don’t mind!

On that note… prayers!
I just want to point out how blessed I have been by this blogging community!!  We pray for each other and we lift each other up and I feel blessed to know y’all.  I think it’s beautiful when I feel comfortable asking y’all for specific prayers and you feel comfortable e-mailing or texting me personally for specific prayers.  If you do have a specific prayer request that I can be praying for you, please feel free to let me know, I’d be happy to do so!!

Not much else going on in this little life of mine… just the usual… tv shows that are more than likely a waste of my time, running (slowly but surely), packing up to move, 2.5 weeks left at my current job, praying for friends/family, slacking a good bit on the whole reading my bible thing, but working on it, and spending time with my sweet friends in Starkville before I leave!

I’ve been running for a few years now and it’s no secret that I love it.  It’s my favorite cardio workout and activity to do when I need to get in a quick workout.  It’s also an easy exercise when you’re traveling, all you need to pack are some running clothes and shoes and you can hit the pavement just about anywhere!  I’ve been extremely blessed to have excellent running buddy’s though and I thought I’d share with y’all some great tips on how to be a great running buddy. 

When I have someone to run with, I get a few benefits: 1. I’m usually faster, but I still watch my pace as to not wear myself out,  2. I have someone to chat with slowly and steadily to assist with my breathing,  3. I usually go farther, 4. The time passes by quicker, and 5. You build very strong bonds and relationships with the people you choose to run with.

Not everybody makes a good running partner though – not that they’re never good… they just may not be good for YOU!  That’s the key factor in all of this, you have to find someone who is good for YOU!  I’ve gathered a good bit of experience running with other people and I have some tips for those of you who may want to start running with others.  These tips may be some that you didn’t know about and could encourage you to seek out a running buddy and/or they could enhance your running experience.

{1} Be Flexible, but only to an extent
A good running buddy is flexible.  Everyone has a different schedule.  You need a running buddy that can be flexible with your schedule (and you can be flexible with theirs).  You can’t get your feelings hurt when something comes up or a time needs changed.  Things happen.  But be aware of their time.  If I need to reschedule or push a time back, I try to let my partner know well in advance.  For the most part, she understands and we move it.

When to let them go?  If your schedules seem like they will work, but one or the other cancels one too many times, chances are, you need to move on and find another running buddy.  Break it to them easy though.  Let them know that you love running with them, but it just doesn’t seem to work consistently.  You would love to schedule a longer run on the weekends every few weeks to catch up, but you don’t think it’ll work scheduling weekly runs because of the difference of schedules.  They should understand.

{2} Understand your pace difference
I’m a slow runner.  I know that and I accept that.  I have had some of the greatest running partners who were faster than me.  I do my best to keep up, but sometimes I need to walk.  There are other times that I’m on my game and they’re lagging behind.  That’s ok too.  The perfect running partner doesn’t necessarily have to have the exact same pace as you at all times.  It’s a little give and take.  There are days I push myself harder to keep up and days I slow myself down to stay behind with my partner.  The best partner though, lets you run ahead if you want/need too.  I always tell who I’m running with that if I need to walk, they are welcome to keep going and I’ll catch up later.  If they’re a good partner, they’ll run ahead, but turn around at a point to come back to me and continue running. 

Inspiration for my post… when I let my running partner run ahead of me.

When to let them go?  If your paces are just too drastically different.  For the most part, this is easy to spot.  I refuse to run with someone who has an 8min or better pace because I know I’d slow them down too much!  I don’t completely negate people who are way slower than me, I just go into that relationship understanding that in order for me to get a good workout, I must schedule in extra time later.  I’ll go walking with a friend 3 mornings a week, but make sure that I fit in a run immediately after or later in the day. 

{3} Have commonalities
A good running partner could very well be your best friend or your hubby or a family member, but you need to understand that a good running partner could also be an acquaintance.  Honestly, those have been some of the BEST for me!  People that I know in a sense and have spent some time with at work or on a particular project/event, but don’t really know on a deep personal level.  We have to have something in common so we have something to talk about, but it doesn’t have to be a lot.  They’re the people that you update on your life, but on a very basic level and that’s ok.  Find someone you enjoy spending time with and enjoy seeing every now and then, but not someone you need to tell everything and anything too.  It makes for perfect run talk.

{4} Encourage!
People take encouragement in different ways.  I need someone to tell me how good I’m doing, how I’m almost there, that I’ve got this!  I also need someone who doesn’t get upset when I’m slower than usual because I was the idiot that decided to chow down on Mexican right before our scheduled run.  I need them to be understanding of my circumstances and situation at a given time.  I do my best to be the same way!  Everyone has an “off” running day.  Stay positive!  If you’re the person who is doing good and the other is struggling then just do your best to get the most out of your run without putting down your friend.  This may mean that you run ahead a little bit, but run back and run at their pace for a few minutes and continue on that cycle.  It may mean that you don’t mind taking an easy day and you jog slowly beside them and encourage them the whole way.  Either way, the activity will help boost your mood and staying positive and understanding will enhance your character and improve your relationship.  You also don’t know when one of those days will hit you and the type of encouragement you’ll need from that other person.

{5} You may expire.. and that’s alright!
My running partners come in phases.  We are constantly changing in life and our schedules may differ depending on where we are or what we’re doing.  When I first started running, I ran by myself, but then started running with a friend right before I signed up for my first 5K.  Then after I did leaderSTATE camp for the first time, I found Caroline who was the perfect running partner for me (everything lined up for us, except our schedule….)  We ended up only running together for a time and most recently when I was doing JROTC camp and joining their PT, we ran together again and it was perfect just like it was years before.  Over the past few months, I started running with Lacy and Noelle because they wanted to get into running and our schedules were basically the same.  They were also a little slower and didn’t mind if I ran ahead if needed.  Now I have Chelsey and she’s really pushing me.  The point is…. your running buddy may expire at some point and you have to realize that that’s alright!  I have had a slew of good ones and I expect to have new ones in the future!  As long as you go in with that thinking, you won’t get mad when your running buddy expires because it may be their life that’s changing which is causing a break in your running relationship.

Thankfully, God has truly blessed me with some of the greatest running partners in the past and I’m glad that I know what works for me and doesn’t.  You can’t feel bad if running with someone just doesn’t work for you, that’s ok.  There is someone else out there that would make a great running buddy for them.

On another note: Some people enjoy running by themselves too and that’s great!!  I get in some really great solo runs that are perfect times for prayer and I really hear God speak to me!  I also get a lot out of a running buddy though and I appreciate those times as well.  I wanted to share with y’all the etiquette of running with someone else because it’s just like any other relationship… you’ll find things you don’t like, but it’s important to focus on what works for each of you and what you can compromise on and still be happy.  Best of luck out there in the running world and finding the perfect running buddy!

So tell me… Do you like running with someone?  Or are you a solo runner?  Do you have any other tips/tricks for running with a friend?

It’s that time!  Time to sign up for the second month of Bloggers Helping Bloggers!  I don’t know about you, but I had a wonderful time being paired up with Sarah and getting to know her!  She was my prayer warrior this month, y’all.  Always texting me at the right time and constantly staying connected!  I hope your experience was just as great.  If it wasn’t, please share with me so I can continue to grow it and make this better!
Sign Up Here!
Remember these rules/suggestions/guidelines:You have until the 27th to sign up.You’ll receive your partner on the 1st of every month.You have until the 4th to contact your partner.Ways to help your partner: Get to know them first, share any prayer requests, send encouraging notes & happies, guest post for each other, provide blogging tips/tricks, and any other great ideas you may have for your partner for the month.There won’t be any link-up at the end of the month because I feel like there are plenty of link-ups in the blogging world, but that’s why I encourage you to have them guest post, so you can still share who your partner is and use the button below to let other people know that you met them through Bloggers Helping Bloggers.  I hope this will grow into something powerful and encouraging and we’ll see tons of prayer requests answered and bloggers being encouraged on a daily basis!It is required that you send at least one encouraging note throughout the month.It is NOT required to send a box or gift, but if you have the money and know of something that would brighten their day, then it’s encouraged to do so!