I figured it out today, exactly where I went so far off the rails. I mean, look at that chart over there to the right. Just look at it. It is blindingly obvious where the seemingly-permanent upwards trend happened. I just finally went back through my blog to pinpoint the moment, and I am not even a little bit shocked. On August 6th of 2018 I watched the (at that point) very last episode of Doctor Who ever broadcast. I crossed the finish line. And yeah, I mentally checked out. Although I spent another six months or so watching all of the various spinoffs, that was the point when I stopped watching Doctor Who on a daily basis. And what was my mantra for dang near eighteen months? 1. Drink More Water 2. Eat Less Crap 3. Get More Exercise 4. Watch Lots of Doctor Who.

Now, I will grant you, I have made forward progress in the last two weeks. I have changed up my treadmill routine, and started actually running for increasing periods of time. That's great. And I am focusing again on numbers 1 and 2, which is also great. But there is one more vital element that has been missing. By my count I have another 9 days of Sapphire & Steel (which I am thoroughly enjoying), and after that? After that it is time for The Time Treadmill v2.0: The Second Lap. That's right, another rewatch of the entire series from start to finish, this time in broadcast order. Which means no difference at all for the first 17 seasons, but then it means watching the various spinoffs interlaced with the main series exactly in the sequence they were originally broadcast. I am excited! I am pumped! Let's go!!

Also, let's talk about today's workout and viewing, below the fold.

Today's workout was good-ish. I increased my step count and distance very slightly, and I came a little bit closer to running the full time for my 3-2-1 sequences (5 minute warmup, 3 minute run, 3 minute walk, 2 minute run, 2 minute walk, 1 minute run, 1 minute walk, repeat entire sequence two more times start to finish). Out of 18 minutes of planned running time, this time I got to roughly 16 1/2 minutes. That is a dramatic improvement from just a week ago. Over the last several days I have also inched up the walking speed from 3.0 mph to 3.3 mph, but kept the running speed at a straight 5 mph. Once I am finally able to hit the full 18 minutes of running a couple days in a row, I will start increasing the run time. I am already doing the equivalent of a 5k run every day, with 2/3 of it walking. On some far-off magical day I would like to be able to manage a full 5k with no walking at all. But that is a long way away. As for my weight, I fluctuated up a tiny bit today. I am trying not to beat myself up over that. My week-over-week trend is still comfortably inside the 1-2 lbs per week range I strive for, so it's all good. Besides, I am only ten days away from spending quality time again with Barbara Wright, Goddess, and that is well worth running towards.

Sapphire & Steel: Assignment 3 a.k.a. The Creature's Revenge

A quick note about the titles I am using: Series creator P.J. Hammond has been very clear that none of the stories ever had titles, not even in the shooting scripts. Some sources refer to the stories as "Assignment 1", "Assignment 2", etc, while other sources list the stories with titles. Those titles have been generally and consistently accepted in the fan community, although they are in no way official. So, I am kinda going with both from here on out.

As for the new story: Wow. Where the first two stories were very much of a gothic horror bent, this one is much more science fiction in setting while still maintaining the creepy environment and pacing that so define the series. The story involves a young couple and their infant child, living in a top floor apartment in some unnamed English city. The catch is, they are actually time travelers from 1,500 years in the future on Day 27 of some kind of research experiment. Something has gone wrong, though, and they are no longer receiving either supplies or instructions from whoever sent them on this assignment.

Meanwhile, Sapphire and Steel arrive at the apartment building and search it from bottom to top in order to find the time breach they have been sent to assess. Strangely, the entire building is completely vacant. It turns out our time traveling family is living in an invisible apartment located on the building's roof. Sapphire is able to sense it, and to sense the three living people, and then both of them are able to sense the invisible walls of the apartment. The whole thing is precisely the kind of off-kilter strangeness this series thrives upon.

Also, something is causing objects in the apartment to move around, particularly pillows and a jacket. That something also causes the mother, Rothwyn, to very nearly attempt to smother her own baby. That was... wow. As for the father, I just about screamed when it turned out his name is Eldred. In the back of my head I kept hearing Sarah Jane Smith saying, "Eldrad must live!"

Then, the kicker towards the end of the second episode? The infant suddenly ages, and in a matter of minutes transforms to a toddler, a young boy, and finally an adult man. Wandering naked in the nursery with a baby blanked draped around him. Naked Man Butt!! Of all the horrifying things I had braced myself for this morning, Hairy Naked Man Butt was not among them.

STATS:

Episode(s): Sapphire & Steel: Assignment 3 a.k.a. The Creature's Revenge, Episodes 1 & 2
Steps Walked: 7,441 today, 5,088,910 total
Distance Walked: 3.50 miles today, 2,621.87 miles total
Push-ups Completed: 0 today, 12,458 total
Sit-ups Completed: 0 today, 7,865 total
Weight: 275.40 lbs (five day moving average), net change -31.90 lbs