I went to bed a bit late again (~1:45AM), for the same reason as last Saturday night: CA guild battle. Woke at 6:55AM for no discernable reason unless maybe the A/C cycling; rolled over and went back to sleep until the alarm at 8AM. That was good timing to internet a little before getting ready for church. I even swung dumbbells around some, and did a set of squats. I had catnapped a couple times briefly during the day yesterday, and ate pretty darn healthy. As we shall see, I was not dragging ass as the day progressed, even though the weather was gloomy and oppressive.

When I circled McD's with my mind on McMuffins and McMuffins on my mind, and thirsty for second coffee of course, there was more of a line than I felt like waiting for. So I arrived a little bit early, call it "on time", for the 10AM service at St. Gregory's. Didn't see my friend Bob Smith nor my attorney. Attendance was altogether a bit sparse. The sermon was a little... shall we say, jingoistic, in anticipation of Independence Day. I'm not fond of it when preachers politicize from the pulpit. This week's sermon delivery did just that, invoking... not even the right-wing-trumped-up-scandal-du-jour (which I guess right now would be the NSA spying on U.S. citizens, same as they've been doing since the 1990s and realistically probably long before), but rather, so-very-yesterday's IRS selective scrutiny of Koch-fueled astroturf teapartisan orgs applying for 503(c) status.

So yeah, that was a mild turnoff. The music ministry made up for that sour note though; opening with the familiar English rendition of Gloria In Excelcis, with Pachelbel, Mozart, and Sousa further ornamenting the service.

After church I hit the gym. I wasn't sure exactly what I would do, and in the absence of a specific plan I usually end up on a treadmill. Today's log was 4.0mi/51:35, 545 kcal, crappy bath scale in the trainers' office said 184-186# so figure maybe 181-182. Started with 1.5mi at 6.3mph, half-mile cooldown, another 1.5mi at 6.0, 1/4mi cooldown and finished with a lap at 7.5mph. Suprisingly good run considering the only fuel in me at that point was 1 cup of coffee, and communion. 6.0mph might be sustainable for a solid 3 miles. As usual lately, it is heat more than energy or breath that forced me to take the first break. I probably could have stuck out the full 2 miles to finish if I'd backed off a couple points of speed, but I knew I wanted to take a cooldown and try a harder speed at the end anyway.

From Youfit I navigated north at Military Tr. to resupply box merlot at Total Wine prices, and ended up with a mix-and-match selection of 4 craft beverages as well - DFH: Palo Santo Marron, Ommegang: Three Philosophers, McKenzie's: black cherry cider, and Magic Hat: Elder Betty. The DFH pick was too rich for my blood at $13 and change for a 4-pack, so I was very glad for the mix-and-match format. Next stop, put $20 in the gas tank, and final leg, picked up 3.75 lbs of ground turkey. Mahler Symphony #3 on the radio.

Late breakfast: a few slices of WW bread with PB, and the Elder Betty. 5.5% ABV, $1.79/12oz bottle or $8.99/6-pack. Cloudy amber color and honey nose typical of weiss brews up-front, nice balance, berry note is palpable but well-married and lends a pleasing astringency, not sweet like a Shock Top, faintly skunky on the finish despite the brown bottle. Overall quite session-worthy, Would Drink Again.

Dinner: a scoop of ground turkey and 2 eggs omelette'd and slapped on a Flatout tomato wrap with a slice of cheddar. Protein-alicious. Also the McKenzie's black cherry cider, which is pretty much like drinking a black cherry soda pop but with 6% ABV. Nothing bad about it, just too sweet for my taste.