I had the good fortune of spending the weekend with Karen from Waisting Time, Sharon from Gains and Losses Through Sharon’s Eyes, and Cammy from The Tippy Toe Diet. My powers of description can’t fully describe the weekend. We shared unending laughter, wisdom, frivolous conversation, deep conversation, and a few tears too.

For just a little more context, you should know that I’m notorious for an extreme dislike of talking to people I don’t know very well. Small talk bores me. So when my friend asked last week with utter confusion on her face upon learning of my upcoming weekend, “Are you serious? You hate talking to strangers,” I responded, “…but these people are not strangers.”

It’s funny – simultaneously strange and comforting to “meet” people for the first time whom you feel as if you already know and who already have a fairly deep understanding of who you are. You know you’re in good company when there’s nothing but comfort and contentment filling the few silent moments. Isn’t it one of the best feelings to be able to share a silent moment with people without that awful awkwardness that sometimes ruins the moment?

But silent moments, as tranquil as they were, were few and far between during this weekend. We talked about everything… and I do mean everything. One thing that repeatedly came up was fiber – soluble versus insoluble (I’m researching this one more today). Topics bounced from blogging to food to health to fears to hopes to money to health to food again to analytics to current events to perceptions of others to family… and yes, to food and fiber again.

I’m left with the wonderful feeling of genuine friendship after this fantastic weekend. I know each of these women will be in my life for many years to come. And as I read their blogs, I can hear their voices in my head. Putting an audible voice with the written voice is a wonderful gift. Many golden nuggets of wisdom learned from these women will remain with me everywhere I go.

From Cammy:

Knowledge and awareness allows us to plan so we can move forward in our best interests… and that there truly can be moderation after bouncing through extremes.

From Sharon:

Sometimes, things don’t occur according to plans. That’s when we can adjust our sails as we move along knowing that things always work out. And that cultivating new friendships may be one of life’s most rewarding things.

And from Karen:

It’s important not to lose track of yourself. Caring for our physical self is the foundation of building the rest of our lives. And just as the elements transform the mountains and the seas over time, life changes too. It evolves, we evolve. What’s important is maintaining an underlying foundation of quiet strength and perspective. It’s only from that space that we can make the best decisions for our lives.

One final transformation I’ll share today is that Healthy Cultivations is coming to a close. Much like the changing of the seasons, this blog has gone through many transformations over the past 12 months. Josh and I began blogging on November 1st of last year. It began as a food blog and allowed us to share some wonderful recipes before it transformed into more of a space to discuss whole-person healthy living with a focus on personal development and deep reflection. All of you who blog know how much loving care has gone into this blog over the past year. This blog is very dear to my heart.

But seasons change, and as a wise woman said to me just yesterday, “Every ending is a new beginning.” I will briefly grieve the loss of this blog, but I shall not mourn for long. There are so many new things going on in my life right now, and I carry a piece of each of you with me as I bring my full self to those new things. I’ve learned from each of you — bloggers and non-blogging commenters alike. Right now, I have to act upon the balance and prioritizing of which I’ve written so sincerely over the past year. Priorities change, environments change, and sometimes relative anonymity is lost.

Please allow me the indulgence of signing off as Oprah signed off her last show (before we knew she’d be back on OWN starting tonight – set your DVRs), “Until we meet again.”

Sincerely,
Michele

It was amazing to be in an event with 6000 other people. I actually did not cross the start line until over 10 minutes after the gun went off, as they were trying to keep people separated into groups to give everyone some breathing room. I considered cropping the above picture to get a better look of the start line, but I thought it looked a lot better showing the large crowd of participants. It was quite amazing. We started off at a nice pace with fairly level ground, but soon reached the first hills. They appeared daunting, but we were easily up and over and approaching Huffman Prairie, where the Wright Brothers first tested their airplane. It was on the approach to the prairie that I noticed something quite interesting. While the road was closed for the runners, everyone continued to maintain the “rules of the road” and the opposing traffic lane was almost completely devoid of people!

As the walk continued, I became aware of an ache in my right ankle. On my long walk the previous Sunday I had twisted it, and tried to do as little as possible this week with that ankle to allow it to heal. It had healed, but was obviously not prepared for a walk of over 13 miles in one shot. However, as we were approaching the halfway point of the race, I was not about to give up over a little pain. This thought would continue to run through my head as the walk continued and the pain worsened.

As we neared the 10 mile mark, far more than I had ever done in a race before, the ache had grown to shooting pains from my ankle up to my knee every few steps. I continued to tell myself that I had come this far, it was no use in turning back. This was countered with the voice in my head asking what I had gotten myself into and why I was continuing to do damage to my ankle. I decided that since the damage was already done, and I did not have any other races coming up in the next few weeks or even months, that I would press on and deal with the consequences after the race. I soldiered on, which is an interesting phrase to use, as I was able to keep pushing on when I saw that there were soldiers in the race in full uniform and backpack, including combat boots. I spoke with one of them, telling her that I admired her for how she was running the race, as I would have most likely dropped dead miles ago if I were dressed as she was. With that in my mind, as well as the determination to get the medal and the “big W,” I kept on walking.

Finally, after over 4 hours, the start/finish line came into sight on the horizon. We had to walk down a road then turn a couple of corners to come back to the line. Before crossing it however, I had to take another photo, showing that I was nearly done.

For those of you who have never run or walked a half marathon, this sign is one of the most beautiful things you can see when you have been trudging along in pain for nearly 4 miles after what began as a pleasant walk! It was a bolstering sight, and put a smile on my face as I walked the final tenth mile to the one thing that is more beautiful than the 13-mile marker…

After 4 hours, 25 minutes and 8 seconds (chip time, as opposed to gun time) I had reached the finish. I was filled with a myriad of emotions. Elation that I had reached the finish line, pride for completing a half marathon, and the thought of “never again will I do this!” The last thought is not necessarily true, although it was foremost in my mind at the time. However, as the healing continues I will most likely continue my plans to eventually walk a full marathon. That, though, is in the future and a date and/or race has not yet been determined. All in all, I am happy that I participated in, and completed, the USAF Half Marathon. There is a select group of people who can say that they have done it.

Yours,

Josh

I’ve come to call several of you friends, and we’re in touch through other means of communication. My biggest fear in a blogging break or ceasing blogging is losing touch with the few of you that have become friends of mine. I do not want that to happen. I value you, and there’s no reason we can’t continue to communicate through the other means… like real friends do. And I’ll still be commenting as usual on the blogs I normally comment on.

Healthy Cultivations is not dead. We just renewed our domain name for another year. I know Josh will be posting about his half marathon next week. It turns out I’m not going to Ohio after all this week.

More soon, and I’ll see you on your blogs.

Michele

Here’s how I am handling social media:

Twitter: Check both Twitter accounts for 15 minutes four times per week.

Facebook: Get on Facebook only while watching television, which I don’t do too often (mainly on Friday and Sunday nights). I can post or share articles other times from integrated sites, and I can respond if someone posts on my wall. But I won’t be perusing my newsfeed to see what kind of latte people acquired at SBUX that morning. I’ve also hidden a few people from my newsfeed. I haven’t unfriended them, though I’m not hesitant to do that if I think it’s necessary. It amazes me how many people with full time jobs still have time to play in Farmville… or your FB application of choice.

Blog Reading: That’s already under control — no policy adjustments required at this time.

There will be other times when I check in on things. The point is to refrain from checking T or FB every time I have a free moment… at stop lights, in line, etc. If I keep reading FB in line at the store, I’ll won’t get to read People magazine. Priorities.

Three questions for you today:

1. How many times per day do you check your e-mail?
2. How often do you get on Facebook or Twitter?
3. Do you have a personal or professional Social Media Policy in place regarding time invested (we’ll leave content for another discussion)? If so, what is it?

This weekend, I decided I simply had to hit the reset button on my life. Since embarking upon bar study along with working full time at the beginning of August, I’ve been doing little more than working, studying, and sleeping. I can’t go on like that. I need time to just spend with myself when I’m not doing work of some sort. And then there comes a time when the trash needs taken out, dishes need done, and the world’s worst task needs completed – the litter box. Unfortunately, there’s no one to help me with these tasks.

So instead of sticking to a reasonable schedule, I’ve tried to stick to an unreasonably ambitious schedule that has left me tired and realizing I need to reassess. I also realized that I was wasting too much time during evening Internet detours from studying. The Internet can really highjack your life if you’re not careful. We’ve read early studies on this, and I’m certain anecdotal evidence as well as research on the topic will become more and more frequent in the coming years (especially since smartphones are becoming ubiquitous). I’m not a cut back gradually kind of person; I’ve just completely cut out checking e-mail or anything else online at all while I’m studying. It wasn’t easy at first, but soon I realized I can get more done faster if I focus.

And getting more done faster allows me to schedule more free time, more me time. I’ve also neglected poor Mr. Elliptical during August. I swore I’d never leave him, but I’ve not been present for him. That ended today. He was very grateful. It’s a big testament to my own personal progress that I’m not scheduling extra work time during my new found free times. Instead, I’m using that time as it should be used — to remember who I am outside of all the other things I do. And it’s about taking care of every area of my life.

How do you get back in balance when you realize things are out of whack?

Michele

Now, on to the vlogging. As you can see, there is no video uploaded with this post. While I am normally quite good with electronics and computers, while at the park today preparing to record a nice video after having had my long walk, I realized that I had neglected to install the proper software to be able to record video with the webcam that I picked up. Having no Wi-Fi signal in the middle of the park, I was unable to get the software installed before the morning light that I was hoping to have as a backdrop was gone. So, now that the camera is ready to go, I will be keeping my laptop with me so that I can start filming whenever the moment is right. Also, I am admittedly a bit camera shy and that is something that I am attempting to overcome. We will see what the next few days brings as far as opportunities for video recording and if I am able keep myself in front of the camera long enough to get a good video.

Yours,

Josh

Lately, I have not made the most of my time. In fact, it might be said that I made the least possible with my time. As with many people, the doldrums of daily life sometimes make you want to sit back and do as little as possible with the free time that you have. I often dabble in various projects and activities, including but not limited to reading, writing, walking, computer work, etc. When I take a good close look at my life, I must put walking into the list of things that are occasional activities, as my life does not revolve around it. This, of course, is not the optimal situation when I have a half marathon a mere month away. Now is the time to start tearing up the pavement, so to speak. I am also going to try to change how I work on projects and activities in an attempt to make them less scattered and perhaps even complete a few of them.

I am going to push for as much walking, and as many miles, as possible between now and the Air Force half marathon. I will be taking daily pictures and keeping track of time/distance so that, once the half marathon arrives, I will be able to upload a quick slide-show video to see what progress can be made in a month.

On another note, Michele and I have discussed the concept of vlogging, and adding some occasional vlog posts here. I am going to be delving into that realm later this week, as my month-long final preparation for the half marathon begins. It should be interesting and I can’t wait to share the results with you!

Yours,

Josh