One of the main realizations I had while watching the Olympics is that I am pretty darn lazy. Not to say I don't exercise...I typically do about 20 minutes on the eliptical 4 times per week, plus walking almost everywhere including work, the grocery store, shopping and sometimes the 28 blocks to Lakeview.

Laziness doesn't exactly run in my family, so that's why it was a realization. To see the hard work and dedication OIympic athletes put into their sport, and to see their amazing abs made me realize--I can do more!

So I made some changes. Instead of having a glass or two of wine after work a few night per week, I cut it out. I cut out binge drinking on the weekend, too. Next thing I knew, my energy levels were soaring. I have been cleaning the apartment in ways it has never been cleaned, doing crunches every night...and I started running.

Although the eliptical is a good workout, it is so much easier than running. So, though I can do a few miles on the eliptical, running a few miles is a different story. Last week I ran my first mile in 2 years. It was a bit challenging, but I did it pretty slowly at 11 minutes. I wondered if I could do it again. And I did.

The next day I ran another mile, this time at 10 minutes...and the next day in under 10...and a few days later in 9. Today was the ultimate challenge, though: 2 miles! I can happily say I did it! Not terribly quickly (20 min, 50 secs), but I accomplished it, and it was not easy!

My abs don't look like an Olympian yet, but they are certainly flatter. And I'm still hoping to drop a few pounds. But to make a huge lifestyle change (mind you, it's only been a few weeks), makes me realize that I can accomplish so much more. Once I had a few moments where I denied myself something I wanted, but knew was unhealthy, or pushed myself to finish a run, though my calves were sore, instead of being tired, I wanted to do it again!

Maybe next week at this time I will have run 3 miles!