Inferno

These past few days, I've been feeling the burn, and it's not just during that fourth set of 90-second planks. (That still sounds intimidating, even after I just finished my last, and quite ugly, set a few minutes ago. I probably looked like I was trying out for a final death scene in a B-movie).

DC is currently undergoing its hottest June on record, with highs in the mid-to-upper 90s, heat index in the triple digits, and...

...wait for it...

...our air-conditioning just gave out over the weekend.

Needless to say, since Friday, the workouts have not been pretty. I didn't make it all the way to the Kung-Fu sit-ups. And again, I am not pleased with myself--I actually LIKE doing them (or, rather, attempting them); I just couldn't keep plugging without risking passing out. (I know we shouldn't chug too much water prior to doing abs, but at the rate I was sweating, I had to). And at the time of my workout, it was pretty late--too late to go jogging around the hood hanging from fences in a half-exhausted state. All the same, these are probably just excuses--better planning could have saved the ab-work. I'll have to work in an extra a.m. set tomorrow, after the rope.

Last night my room weighed in at around, oh, 92 degrees, and today's workout was again completed in a swamp of my own sweat; I was practically drowning in it. Honestly, the heat's not the worst--it's working out in the heat on top of only clocking four hours of sleep.

The diet goes well, despite two recent hurdles: an alumni dinner for my grad program (fixed menu!) and dinner before a concert. The former was invite only, all paid for by the program, with options only for vegetarians. There's no way I was going to be able to whip out the scale, and it felt weird making specific demands when the arrangements had already been made--and when I wasn't paying. So I did my best with the options, choosing the fish over the pork and lamb dishes, and forgoing dessert in favor of a small bowl of fresh fruit (which I used for that evening's snack). The Friday dinner before the live band gave me a little more control, so I went with a veggie paninni and salad. Later, at the concert (a great Lybian Berber/Tuareg band at the 9:30 Club), I stuck with coffee. (9:30 actually had a coffee bar inside the venue. Definitely the most PCP-friendly place to catch a live band that I've seen so far). Still, I definitely fared better the previous weekend, while out at the ball game. It wasn't hard; there was, quite simply, absolutely NOTHING I could eat:



Today it was back to basics: For breakfast, steel-cut Irish porridge (oats), steamed veggies, and lean ground bison/beef mix--along with the usual tall 300 o'milk. Lunch was baked salmon, fresh tossed green salad with tomatoes, onions, cucumber, and squash, with a bag-full of salt-free (or low-salt) tortilla chips. Unfortunately, no pics--I devoured everything before I could grab my camera.

The farmer's market has become a regular Sunday habit; I love heading in early (the eggs go FAST!) and grabbing an iced coffee at Big Bear Cafe and doing some reading or catching up on the news before the opening bell.

All right, all this food-blogging is making me hungry--back downstairs for some bison-burger & salad...