Insanity Week 7.2: Do It Better The Second Time Around

Week 7.1 was, for all intents and purposes, a train wreck.  I was lazy. I made stupid choices.  Time to fix it.  I knew going into this week that there were going to be 3 challenging meals (1 breakfast meeting, 1 dinner out with a vendor, and an epic German feast to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday) and 1 night where working out was not going to be possible (vendor dinner and event) because I wasn't going to be home at a reasonable hour.  I was bound and determined not to let these things completely derail my do over week.

Day 43.2:
My do-over week started with a breakfast meeting.  There was no way to get out of it, so I settled for making the best choices I could under the circumstances (2 eggs and dry wheat toast).  The food didn't sit well (that restaurant's food never does sit well with me), but by 1:30pm I managed to down my chicken avocado wrap and then proceeded to get so wrapped up in work that I forgot about my apple walnut yogurt mess until about 6pm.  By then it was too close to my workout to eat, so I chalked it up as "one less thing to prep for tomorrow".  Tonight's workout was Max Cardio Conditioning and I could definitely feel that I'd taken a few too many days off in a row.  It was a good wake up call and by the time it was over, I was actually hungry for dinner (chicken, baked potato w/ spicy brown mustard, and asparagus).  Nothing gets the appetite going like an ass-beating of a workout!

Day 44.2:
Today was much better on the food front. I got to eat all my own food and my body definitely thanked me for it.  My rematch with Max Cardio Intervals went well enough and I slept like a baby.

Day 45.2:
What is it with me and Wednesdays?  Last week it was a trip to Dr. Beast and Mexican food.  This week it was a vendor dinner and event.  My boss and I met the vendors for dinner immediately after work.  I did the best I could with the available menu (light beer, plain grilled chicken sandwich, side of fruit) and then proceeded to spend the rest of the evening attempting to be sociable. I was fading fast and did my best to hide it (it's really hard to stifle yawns!), got home as soon as possible, and crashed hard.

Day 46.2:
I could definitely tell that I was out too late last night.  I was slow and sluggish all day long, but I knocked a couple of annoying items off my to do list and headed home for Max Interval Plyo.  I still think it should be called Max Pushups.  My arms and chest were screaming by the time I was finished, but I pulled off 15 of the 16 pushups in the first round of Level 3 drills, so I was a little proud of myself.

Day 47.2:
What I should have done after work: Max Recovery.  What I actually did: Ordered dinner from Mekong Cafe,  a Thai/Laotian/Cambodian restaurant, after one of my coworkers raved about it and watched Iron Man and Iron Man 2 with Mr. R&R and the bunnies.

We ordered a bunch of different things and basically had a tasting menu for dinner.  First up was an assortment of appetizers.

We sampled (clockwise from the top): crab rangoon, temple tofu, a crispy spring roll, and chicken satay.  The chicken satay was the unanimous favorite and the crab rangoon was really good too.  The crispy spring roll was good, but nothing special.  Neither of us cared for the temple tofu.  It was just a lump of fried tofu - and the thing that makes tofu awesome is seasoning since it acts like a sponge for all the flavors around it.  This lacked any sort of seasoning so the two bites I took were akin to chewing on a fried kitchen sponge.

We also tried the fresh spring roll.  It was absolutely beautiful to look at and came accompanied by three different dipping sauces (peanut, sweet sour, and rice vinegar).  It was good, but it wasn't any different than other spring rolls I've had.  The peanut sauce, however, was awesome and we practically licked the little container clean!

Our next course was Pork Pho.  Both Mr. R&R and I are huge fans of Anthony Bourdain and have been dying to try pho since we re-watched the Vietnam episode of Parts Unknown.  The soup came with a variety of add-ins like lettuce, bean sprouts, holy basil, and rice noodles and we loaded up our bowls.  It was really pretty to look at, but the broth was a little on the bland side and from what Bourdain has described, the soup should have been bursting with flavors.  I think we're going to have to try pho from some other local establishments before passing final judgement on the dish.

Our final course was a spicy red chicken curry.  It was really good, but it didn't photograph well at all (kind of resembled cat sick on the plate)!  The curry was a fantastic mixture of sweet from the coconut milk base and heat from an array of chilis.  I would definitely order it again.

Day 48.2:
We slept late, got a bunch of stuff done around the house, and meant to squeeze in Max Cardio Conditioning and Cardio Abs before my dad's birthday dinner.  Well...all of a sudden it was 5:30pm and we needed to leave the house in 20 minutes!  I dove into the shower, wielded a blowdryer in one hand while slapping on some makeup with the other, threw on a dress and some cute boots, and hauled ass downtown (20 minutes away) to meet the family.  We made it with less than a minute to spare!  For the first time in a long time, I didn't think about what the "healthiest/least unhealthy" option was. I ordered one of my favorites and another glass of cabernet.  The food was good and my dad definitely seemed to enjoy himself, so I'd deem the evening a success.

Day 49.2:
Damn you wine...3 glasses and I end up sleeping until 10am!  Mr. R&R and I enjoyed a leisurely morning complete with a late brunch (eggs, southwest roasted potatoes, and fresh fruit) and watching Ironman 3 before doing battle with Fit Test #4.

I kind of expected to have a poor showing on this one because the last two weeks haven't been the best in the food and fitness departments.  I ended up surprising myself - and feeling like I was going to puke.

I think I may have expended a little too much energy on the early moves (particularly the Switch Kicks) because by the time I got to Low Plank Obliques I was totally gassed out.  If I'd had any energy left, I probably would have had a minor tantrum, but instead I was laying facedown on the basement floor and gasping for air.  I guess you can't win 'em all.

There are two weeks left in my Insanity Workout Challenge and I'm starting to look forward to wrapping it up.

How was your week?  Any favorite asian dishes to recommend?