Status

First day at work after the surgery. Certainly interesting. I got up at 5:30 and decided I'll walk to work, so, at first I had
Breakfast: slice of cheesecake and a little bit of coffee to get me started while I cooked up one of those plum ginger sausages with 2 eggs, handful of spinach and two toasts with butter and cheese. I figured if I am about to walk 7.5 miles, I better get my body going.
Various snacks: about half a cup of trail mix, about a teaspoon of chocolate nibs and a blood orange after I did my morning walk to work.
Lunch: a bit late lunch, about 2:30 PM. Started with bread and olive oil, then lentil soup and medium rare rib eye with garlic mashed taters. Good stuff, but hey, I walked 7.5 miles.
Afternoon snacks: about a cup of baby carrots
Dinner: cup of split pea soup, slice of cheesecake, cup of icecream topped with rum
Liquids: easy gallon of water, about a shot of rum
Exercise: about the best day I had in a long time. Walked to work in the morning, 7.5 miles in 1:35, walked back in 1:46. The distance is as good as I can measure with the pickup truck (and my road bike), I'll know better when I can measure it with my new toy. It should be here Friday. The times put me at about 4.5+ mph average, according to one web site I went to, I have burned somewhere around 2300 - 2400 cal today. Yes, I am tired, but I felt a real emotional high a couple of times when I walked. Almost a religious experience (that is if I believed in religions), being synchronized with the world around me. It was just a pleasure to be. I could get used to this ...

Other: I am very conscious about how I walk. I did have a backpack (not too heavy), and I walk with my head up and try to keep my upper body straight yet loose. I noticed yesterday that it is a bit more comfortable if I just let my legs kind of swing into the rhytm instead of forcing them to walk. This swing is pretty natural, I do it without thinking. I do have to think about using the full range of motion my ankles are capable of. Ashlene was working on those places last week, I hope I didn't screw it up. I don't think I'll be walking to work tomorrow. Time to go hottubing now ....

Also, I started drinking about a shot of aloe vera gel (pure, organic, just the plant's leaf gel) every day. Tastes like crap (got to take it like a tequilla shot), but I think it's good for me. And the healing continues ...