This morning, I ran 5.3 miles in 50 minutes. It was a tiring but exciting exercise.

After warming up, I started out at 12 min/mile and quickly moved up to 10min/mile, and then to 9 min/mile. It was a relatively high speed which is my goal for this week. However, I felt very relaxed at this high speed and decided to run a little bit faster. I speeded up to 8.30 min/mile. Except for occasional bouts, I never ran continuously at this speed. My legs was striding mechanically, my breath was fast and shallow, and my heart was pounding in my chest. But I still felt quite comfortable. I kept running, minute by minute, till I finished 0.80 miles when I thought I should slow down. For the rest one mile, I ran at a speed of 9.30 to 10 min/miles. Within only 30 minutes including warming up and cooling down, I have already run 3.2 miles.

But I didn’t feel enough. I restarted the running program and ran additional 2 miles for 20 more minutes. What a great achievement!

Running is my only exercise. For the last four weeks, I ran almost every day, first for 2 miles per day and later for 3 miles per day. My friends and colleagues think I am working too hard. Maybe they are right.

I am in a mood of madness right now. My weight-loss treatment is a combination of physical activity and low calorie diet. I am sort of forcing myself running and dieting every day. I watch my calories closely. The daily energy deficiency is about 1000 kcal.

This treatment regime is very demanding. Not many people can stick to it for a long time. I also had a few lapses. For example, last weekend, I didn’t do any exercise because I participated the community cleanup in Saturday and did shopping in Sunday. I also ate liberally last two days: pizza, Mcdonald’s, and a lot of salmon (my wife cooked the fish so delicious that I couldn’t resist the temptation of eating an extra piece of fish).

Nevertheless, my weight is decreasing quickly. I have lost about 17 lb within four weeks. My original goal is to lose 20 lb within 3 months. It seems I was overtly conservative in setting my goal. If I carry out my regular weight loss plan carefully for the rest of week, I am confident that I will reach my goal this week, almost two months ahead of the plan. This is so exciting.

Finally, my goal is only one foot away. Hooray!