Day 30 (almost half-way there {Really!})

This is the second day of Week 5, a resting day. I got to bed late last night, but wasn't up dealing with bills or any household obligations--I was watching some TV online, and playing some online Scrabble. It was a good way to end a day for me--something relaxing amidst the stresses of life.

I went to bed late but slept in a bit, too, taking the edge off the shortened night. I dressed at a casual pace, sat down and enjoyed my breakfast, and headed in to work about 8 AM.

My left leg is still sore, but it now affects me most only when sitting or rising, and on the first step or two of a walk. I headed out the door this morning with a set of keys, planning to drive in, but biking is one habit that must be engained in me by now. I saw my bike in the driveway, with my helmet on the seat, and I turned around, went back inside, and hung the keys on the hook.

I biked in a lower gear today, both so as not to push too hard and also to keep my cadence up. My left leg muttered some protests at first, but it felt pretty good by the time I arrived. After dismounting, my first few steps were uncomfortable, but things are better than they could have been.

Mrs. F confirmed something I noticed last night--I'm a little thinner in the face. My ample double chin (a primary reason for my full beard) is receding. I still have belly fat, but I have lost much of it from the upper sides and front of my abdomen. I still cary it low on the sides and in the front, much like a full carpenter's apron, but it more clearly hangs on me now, rather than just being an indistinguishable part of my girth. She also noticed that my thighs are starting to thin--not a major change and certainly nothing someone other than my wife would notice, but I guess I had noticed it, too. Things are simply fitting better. Shirts are hanging on me again, rather than straining at the seams. When I breathe, I don't feel like I'm about to pop a button.

Don't get the wrong impression: I've not suddenly gone from fat to trim. It's just that I'm really starting to notice a difference when I see myself in the mirror in the morning. While I can't say that I yet like what I see there, I can say that I'm happy to be moving in the right direction.

I hope to be able to take a cool bath tonight, and I plan to take some Ibuprofen before I go to bed. Morning will come early, and the forecast is calling for frost. Before, I always thought runners were nuts, especially those who would run in very cold weather. Well, now I guess I can say that "it takes one to know one."