Taking Stock: July

The end of July always feels a little bit sad to me. While May and June hold the promise that the best of summer is yet to come, July is the subconsciously ideological peak. And though August is usually a lovely month in the various counties I've inhabited in the northern hemisphere, there is no denying that it is the month that heralds the beginning of the end.

So I'm trying to remain chipper as I do my round up of the month and prepare to make the leap from 7/31 to 8/1 (or 31/7 to 1/8, depending on which side of the Atlantic you live). July has flown by in a blur of manic training: I trained more than I've ever trained in my life in the past month. I have taken the last few days off to eat a lot, drink a lot and sleep a lot in preparation for heading into the Pyrenees for what I am now dubbing to be col-bootcamp. I started to add up my hours of training over the last four weeks and abandoned it when I kept getting different numbers at the end of each week's sub-summary; so let's just say it was a lot. I averaged around 25-30 per week. In terms of bodily changes, I dropped 4 kilos by restricting my carbohydrate intake at non-exercise times of the day, and restricting alcohol intake. Then I gained one of those kilos back in the last week, which may not be such a bad thing. No muscle soreness or fatigue to report, but a definite desire to sleep more.

Before my body decided it's time to take another nap (it keeps happening very suddenly), here's recipe of the month:

Vegan Banana Bread:

    3 ripe bananas
    2 tablespoons olive oil
    2 cups flour
    3/4 cup sugar (or 1 ts stevia, and add a little extra flour)
    1 teaspoon salt
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a loaf pan. Mix the mashed bananas and oil in a large bowl. Stir in the flour, vegan sugar, salt, and baking soda. Mix in the nuts. Pour the well blended batter into the greased pan and bake for one hour. Remove and let cool.

This recipe is so easy and so good, and I found that it allowed me to take a post-lunch siesta for just the right amount of time to allow it to bake and when the kitchen timer went off, it was time for mid-afternoon coffee and banana bread. Speaking of which, I'm now ready for a nap.

It's a good life.