hey...i had to do something to get your attention, huh :)

just quick stopping by with a little update.  as some may know i have been on a bit of a health journey over the past nine months.  not due to any extreme health concerns, but just because i knew i was going down an unhealthy path with my weight and eating habits and one shouldn't be about to pass out after coaching a soccer practice :)

i have become a runner.  i have participated in five races over the past six months and i am currently training to run my first marathon in the fall.  i have dropped 38 pounds and have been continuing to work on a much better way of eating.

that being said i have put a lot of focused energy on a healthier lifestyle and that has cut in a bit on my online time.  i do plan on getting back to some of my favorite pods and connections here again in the future as i slowly create balance in all areas of my life...which there are still many other areas that need balancing.

so what about these birds?  well i did a 12 mile training run yesterday down a great country road between my town and another and i had three different blackbird attacks during the run, one that was within about 5 feet of me and followed me for about a quarter mile.  ah, the excitement of a country run :)

see you all soon...

as particles flow through the universe, know that i am still around.  i drift in and out and linger and blow away and come back and always looking for a peek of what is new and fresh and old and comforting.

as i move through and about, i have changed and tried to take the best i can from what i encounter.  my paths may be many right now but it still is in the one true direction of searching for and creating happiness.

at present i have changed many habits to truly strengthen my physical being to allow me to better participate in my life.  to allow me to fully take in what is possible.  as i keep strengthening this part of me i also work on my mind and its ever expanding awareness of what i can truly become.

i am truly blessed by the friends i have met here and although i have been distant for some time, know my thoughts are with you even when i am not here.

peace and light ~ mike



picture link credit: http://www.processingblogs.org/2007/08/page/3/

so to update y'all from my last post...i am officially down 30 lbs now and reached the goal weight i was shooting for.

i greatly reduced my cholesterol numbers which was another big goal...now all in the good zone.

i ran my second race last weekend...a 6.25 mile race, actually called the 50 Furlong in 50 min 26 seconds...an 8:05 min per mile pace which is 42 seconds per mile better than my previous race.

i am hoping to do a 5k this weekend and then a 10 miler first week of April.

my upper body and core strength program will start next week...i don't know what exactly it is going to be yet..but probably a variety of things.

i have been reading the Getting Things Done book and actually starting to greatly improve my organizational skills...i think more sleep and less stress has been helping this too...although i should be sleeping now :)

i have lots of other things a stirrin' and i will keep you all posted as they come about...

well i have to throw some laundry in the dryer and get some sleep...was hoping to get 4 mile run in tomorrow...we shall see

peace all.

Hmm... a little late, huh.

So just a little update for those wondering, what's or where's up with Mike :)

I have to admit I was getting a little addicted to zaadz and being online and not that I didn't enjoy it, but I realized I was forgetting about a big portion of the rest of my life including myself.  Which was one of the main reasons I was here in the first place - to create change in my life.

However, spending 20+ hours a week online prohibited much of the change I needed to make in my three dimensional world outside the computer screen.  So, I realize I have left a Pod mostly unattended, but I have needed to work on some of these other things and I hope to add back in quality (not quantity) time back to my experience here when I have completed some of my other goals.

So what are some of those goals and how has my progress been?  Thanks for asking...

Well, one was to get healthier.  Since mid-October, I have lost 22 lbs, dropped my BMI from 28.1 to 24.7 (that's a good thing) and I exercise at least 5 days a week.  I have also been averaging 7+ hours of sleep a night compared to my 4-5 hours of sleep average in the past.

I have been eating better and constantly looking at how I can improve that.  I have been actively montioring my calories at the website caloriecount plus.  I have been off full sugar full caffeine beverages for over 3 months!

I also ran my first race in over 7 years.  It was a New Year's Day 5 mile run, that I finished in 43 min 53 seconds for an 8:47 per mile pace.  The temperature that day was 10 degrees with a 15 mph wind - yeah :)  It was a blast!

I have been spending more quality time with my wife and kids and I have been getting better at sorting out priorities.  There are still some goals to achieve and I will keep you posted.

I will update the Darfur Pod, soon, soon!  And I do still have many ideas a stirring in my head.

Peace to all and wishing you all an incredible year!

over 7 weeks time i have lost 12.2 lbs!
i have walked/jogged over 16 hours and almost 56 miles
i have burned over 6100 calories during exercise
i have gone from a BMI of 27 to a BMI of 25.5
i have lost 2 inches from around my waist
i know what sleep feels like again
i have not had any caffeinated beverages in 7 weeks
i have eaten breakfast everyday
i have eaten more raw foods
i have even walked twice at lunch to get my lunch (hmm imagine that)
i did three 2 mile runs (no stopping) this past week
i am awake right now (i mean actually awake, no sluggishness)

so that's my post for today.  i am now off to start prepping for a snow storm expected this afternoon, somewhere between 4 to 8 inches of snow then supposedly turning to ice, yeah!
another opportunity to exercise - shoveling!!!

i have lost 8.4 lbs in the past 4 weeks.
i am getting 7+ hours of sleep on average every night (compared to 5 or less in the past).
i am more awake and thinking clearer.
i am eating a healthier diet and working on reducing cholesterol.
my kids are asking why i am working out :)
my wife has lost over 7 lbs.
our home life is starting to become more organized.
i actually walked a mile to get lunch yesterday (a salad) and walked the mile back to work too!
i am planning my next steps in reconnecting and building the life I want.

peace to all my friends...sending love and light.

a message to my friends...

i have been a little checked out (of zaadz) lately...and as my status says - rebuilding.

no, i am not constructing a new house or even remodeling our existing one, but i am trying to step by step rebuild me and parts of my life.  i will still be checking in and back updating the Darfur pod and other things, but it will be a little less frequent for a while.

the first steps i am taking are to reduce the burnout that i have been experiencing and work towards improving my families bottom line (which dove even more just this week with an estimate for $2500 of repairs on our van ~ $1600 of which i have to get done).

i value this site and the friends i have here very much and as i said i will not be far away, just a little distant :)

my first steps have been to work on myself (hmm, seems logical) be the change you want to see ~ guess it can apply personally too.  i have eliminated caffeine, and fast food and i started walking on our treadmill again.  i am also getting an average of 7 hours of sleep a night now! ~ compared to probably an average of 5 or less in the past.

these changes, which i just started a couple weeks ago, have already been making a world of difference in my health and ability to accomplish tasks at home and work.  believe it or not i have actually even craved salad a couple times.  i also highly recommend the site - http://caloriecount.about.com/ for tracking calories, weight and exercise.  it has been a great way for me to see where i need to focus.

i have also greatly reduced my internet usage because i believe i was becoming a little too addicted to being online.  not that some of this time isn't productive and also giving me benefits, but i also was wasting a lot of time (not on zaadz of course :).  i installed the mee timer plugin for Firefox and it keeps track of all the time you spend on every site and you can even group common things - like social networking, email, procrastination, etc.  this timer was also a great way to show me where i wasted time.

so for those of you who have asked, i am doing okay, but i am working on all those things that life likes to throw at you and realized that i needed to set some priorities and release some things that were not as important right now.

i still have the same concerns for issues like Darfur, Burma and peace in our world and i still wish to be a part of and help all my friends and their causes, but first i need to do some rebuilding on myself and look at some other ways that i feel i can make a difference on these important issues.

so a couple weeks have gone by and i am 2.2 lbs lighter (even after having birthday cake on my daughter's birthday), have walked for over 3 hours, burned over 1000 calories and i have spent probably 20 hours per week less - online.

so i will be around and see you all soon.  i keep checking your blog posts when i can and catching email too.  i will update you all on my rebuilding progress as well over the weeks ahead.

peace, love and light to all of you.  

There are no unanswerable questions, just a lot of wrong answers.