People always say, "It's all downhill after you have kids."  Well, it was quite the opposite for me.  Having my son inspired me to change my lifestyle for the better knowing that someday I would become an example to him.  I had started during pregnancy by slowing changing my diet, but the real lifestyle change came about eight weeks after he was born. At this time  I started taking him out for walks in the stroller every day and slowly built up to walking four miles at least six times a week.  I was pretty happy with this routine when I got further inspiration from hearing a group of my friends talk about an upcoming 12k race that they run together every year, I felt a little left out and envious of their commraderie.  So, a few days later I decided to give running a shot.  I got up early, hit the road, and ran . . . three-quarters of a mile!  I was so amazed and proud of myself, and I felt so good afterwards that I had to keep going.  That first run was April 25th, 2009. Five months and one day later I ran my first race, a half marathon.  I was able to run the whole course and came in 85th out of 167 with a time of 2:13:52.  It was such an amazing experience, and I had so much fun that I am planning on running another half marathon at the end of November.  I have lost 25 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight, and, of course, you can bet I'll be running the annual 12k with all my friends next year.