Checked it out, I bumped up my speed another notch today. I am currently going at 4.7 mph, and I completed the entire workout at that speed (although I was sorely tempted to slow down by the last third of my workout). I have also started tiptoeing into an extra workout, by doing a 30-day Planking Challenge. Today was easy enough at 20 seconds, but it ratchets up pretty quickly. Theoretically by November 30th I should be holding a proper Plank position for five full minutes. I figure if there is some chance that my abs will become visible at some point, I should start working them, right?

As for Doctor Who, I watched the middle third of the current story. Let's talk about that.

I have lost more than twice as much weight in the past week than I did in the entire previous month. How cool is that? The numbers are consistent for four days running, so it's not a fluke. Whatever brick wall I was up against, I seem to have burst through. I have broken four miles on the treadmill in six out of the last seven days. and I feel really good. Who knew that Doctor Who was the key to healthy living?

Anyway, I started a new story today. Let's talk about that.

You know, it's kinda funny: every time I start to get frustrated by lack of progress, thinking maybe I have finally hit the brick wall and I have arrived at my destination size, then something like the last two days happen where I have a sudden drop. Although I weighed in slightly higher today than yesterday, which was not unexpected, that "slightly higher" was still much lower than anything prior to yesterday. I think I really do have a fighting chance at being in the 240's by Christmas. How cool is that?

Also, I finished my current Doctor Who story today. I have don't have much to say about it, but let's get this done.

When I started this project over eight months ago, I was wearing 46" waist pants whereas my son was wearing 36" ones. Last week my wife got me some new 40" pants, and now this weekend I had to go out and get my son two new pairs of 40" pants. For the last two weeks he has literally been wearing my clothes. It's obvious why I am excited to have dropped a full six inches in waist size. It is worth noting that, as well as being autistic, my son has a history of severe digestive issues. Only a few years ago ne was so thin and malnourished that we were starting to have discussions about having a feeding tube placed. It is absolutely astonishing to me that he has grown so much. It is also a little worrisome, in that he is clearly headed on the same trajectory I was, and we need to figure out how to put on the brakes, but that's a whole other issue. For this weekend, though, my son and I have met in the middle and I am both pleased and perplexed.

I also started a new Doctor Who story, so I guess I should talk about that.

This morning I took the most steps, walked the furthest distance, and weighed the least I have since I started this project over eight months ago. In my 55 minute workout I clocked in 7,694 steps and 4.21 miles. By comparison, on Day 1 walked only 5,649 steps and 2.4 miles in the same 55 minutes. Better yet, I weighed in at 255.1 lbs, far outstripping my previous record of 255.9 set two weeks ago before I bounced back up. Of course the real question is, will I stay in that neighborhood tomorrow? We shall see. It was a nice bit of sunshine after a very frustrating two weeks of backwards progress. We shall see.

I also finished watching the current story this morning, so let's talk about that.

Filed under random coincidence: As of today, I have walked exactly 802.11 miles on the treadmill for this project. Does that number look familiar to you? It did to me, but maybe that's because I'm a technology geek. If you have ever gone out shopping for a wireless router, you may or may not have noticed they all specify their wireless type as something like "802.11g", which refers to IEEE 802.11 wireless standard. And this, folks, is exactly the kind of thing my stupid brain fixates on when I am not watching Doctor Who.

Speaking of which, I started a new story today. Let's talk about that.

It's funny how many weird and random bits of trivia I stumble across in the course of this project. Case in point: I only just realized that the actress in this current story who plays the scientist that gets consumed and transformed by the titular Fendahl is none other than Wanda Ventham. Who, you ask? You would know her better and more indirectly as the mother of Benedict Cumberbatch, a.k.a. Sherlock Homes, Doctor Strange, Smaug, Khan, and the guy who can't pronounce "penguin" to save his life. As a matter of fact, this role was her first big acting job after giving birth to her Eventually Famous Son. How cool is that?

So let's talk about the second half of this story.

First thing first: Today I broke 4 miles in one 55 minute session on the treadmill for the first time in over a month, and recorded the highest number of steps ever since I started this project. Hooray for progress! (I need to cheer something, my weight had gone slightly backwards in the last week.) I am about to leave for a rehearsal in the show I am doing, where I will be doing nothing but dance choreography for five hours straight, so I am expecting my numbers tomorrow to look particularly good. So that's nice.

I also started a new story today, and if I have ever seen it before then I surely don't remember anything at all about it. So let's talk about that.

I just noticed that as of this past weekend I had viewed 33.6% of all televised Doctor Who stories while walking on my treadmill. In terms of episode count I am well over halfway there, it's just that once the modern series comes around most of the stories are only one episode, with a few two-parters here and there. As for the Fourth Doctor, I am just about halfway there. I expect I will wrap up Tom Baker before Christmas. So that's pretty cool. As for my workouts, I had fallen back on speed for a while but this morning I bumped it back up. Tomorrow I will try to cross the four-mile mark again in 55 minutes, which I have only done once before. My body shape keeps changing for the better, even if my weight is fairly stagnant. I really need to start mixing in strength training at this point. But not today.

As for today's viewing, I wrapped up K-9's first story and he became an official part of the crew. Let's talk about that.

I mentioned a few days ago that The Talons of Weng-Chiang marked the end of an era, with the departure of Philip Hinchcliffe as producer. Horror of Fang Rock was transitional, still written like the gothic horror that was so predominant during the Holmes/Hinchcliffe seasons, but today's story marks a clear shift into the next phase of Doctor Who both in terms of style and also with the introduction of a new companion who is second only to Sarah Jane Smith herself in terms of being beloved by fans. It also demonstrates once again that just showing up to work is half the battle when it comes to success.

Let's talk about that.