Yesterday before lunch, the whole family (including Kona) went for a short (25 min.) run in our neighborhood. I am NOT a “runner” but I want to try as it’s excellent conditioning and a good way to increase heart rate the same way as with burst training. Since I am fairly out of shape, endurance-wise, I was able to run about two blocks without stopping, then walk, then run some more. We also included two sprints, both of which were on an uphill incline. Our total distance was a mile and a half. Freya rode in the jogger and hooted and wheeeeed throughout 🙂

I felt pretty great afterward and am not too sore today. I would actually love to make this a daily thing. I am determined to tone up my abdomen and legs, and shed at least ten pounds. If I could lose fifteen that would be miraculous. I feel like running each day and continuing to be conscious about my eating habits should help get this done.

Last night’s dinner was pretty awesome: a Thai beef salad made with grilled flank steak and a lime-based dressing that I made, and a bunch of vegetables, served over a small portion of brown rice. Next time I will cut some of the cayenne pepper. For I have what Brian refers to as a “baby mouth.” Wah, too spicy! Think I might also throw in a few more slices of avocado and mango to cut the heat as well, and add ginger to the dressing. It was so good though. The meat was perfectly grilled. Thanks, Cook’s Illustrated!

Shipped the backpack carrier back to Deuter yesterday using the UPS label they emailed me. It should get to their US headquarters in Colorado on Thursday, then hopefully next week we will have our new one. I still can’t believe our good fortune. Check these guys out if you’re interested in getting a good backpack of any kind. They are a great company.