Moving freely

12:21 p.m. Monday: 3.13-mile "runch" (I said hell no to the 21 degrees that morning, opting for a perfectly brisk and pleasant noon-time outing.)

5:14 a.m. Tuesday: Jillian Michaels' "Ripped in 30," week 3 + part of week 4 (Bonus points for completing it after finding a mouse in the living room.)

9:02 a.m. Tuesday: Exercising my right to vote

The plan is working. I'm doing what I want, when I want and letting things unfold as intended.

Last week, I ran 16 miles - two 5-milers and two 3-milers, taught BODYPUMP and got in a cobbled-together cardio session before and after Miles woke up. There were a few walks in there, and I even managed to burn 2,700 calories (thanks for the info, Bodymedia) on Saturday between BP, a visit to the mall, grocery shopping and evening walk.

I will admit that it all feels a little light, as if I'm not doing enough. It's a point my pal Heather touched on when we were enjoying our girl's day out. I've planned this to give myself flexibility and room to enjoy life but there's a part of me that's not happy to just take it easy. Part of it's fear (of gaining lbs and of losing endurance), part of it's habit. But there's also the facts: I like to run. I like to train. I like to push myself.

Thankfully, I have a little trick up my sleeve. Some early morning workouts combined with runches and a December 10K for motivation, and I'm thinking that I'll hit an activity level - in intensity and duration - that I'm happy with.