It's never going to be "the right time"

I can still remember lying on that couch, so long ago, watching that Ironman race.  But I didn't have the motivation to do anything towards that dream.  My job got in the way, obligations,  relationships, you know "life".   I kept waiting for the "right time".  Occasionally I'd make some effort towards it.  I'd do a bike ride, I'd join a gym but then, you know what happened?  "life got in the way".
Along the way, I moved across the country to be closer to my family.  I ended up in a small town and met some amazing friends.  And I was trying to decide about a hobby I had, did I want to turn it into a "job"?  Did I want to take a chance?  A friend asked me this very simple question, "on your deathbed, will you regret not having tried it?"  I instantly said "Yes!".  I knew I had my answer to that job.  Not long after that I decided I wanted to run.  I still had that thought of that Ironman in the back of my head.  I was approximately 250 lbs, only had one pair of sweats that fit me.  Everything else was too small.   But I knew part of me would regret not having at least "tried" to go after my dream.
So, I went to a running friend and asked her how to start.  I started walking 9 minutes, running 1, for 30 minutes at a time.  I did that for two weeks, then went to walking 8 minutes, running 2.  I did that until one day I ran a full 30 minutes.  And the first time I ran a mile, I thought I had conquered Everest!  It was the best feeling in the world.
I did a couple 5K's.  Then that same friend, who asked me that pivotal question 3 years earlier, and I did a 1/2 marathon in 2009.  And I knew I wanted to do more.  The 1/2 was in the fall, I went through that winter, running off and on and then joined PA Fitness, my local gym, in May 2010.  I finally decided that the "life getting in the way" could always be an excuse, if I wanted to do this, I had to make it happen.  After all this is "my life".
I worked with a trainer and learned the basics of lifting.  I took spin classes.  My weight started to drop.  The trainer started to help me with my food.  And that dream of doing a triathlon started to become a little more real.
I thought I was getting into pretty good shape.  I had dropped weight, I was lifting 3 days/week, I was spinning 4-5 days/week.  Thought my endurance had to be great, right?  So, a friend asked me to go running that fall.  I couldn't do more than a mile.  I had no stamina, no endurance.  I was dying!  That's when I knew I had to do more than just lift and take spin if I ever, truly, wanted to do a multi-sport race.  
In December of 2010, I approached Kris Potteiger, the fitness director, at my gym.  I had been told she helped people get fit "overall".  I started training with her in January.  We did workouts like I've never done in my life, like "mini boot camp" workouts, she gave me interval training on the elliptical and kept me off the bike.  I learned to run on a treadmill, something I had always feared.  I did everything she told me to do.  And one day, in mid-March, we had one of those rare spring days.  We had, had a long winter and this day was perfect.  It was a Friday, and it was 70 degrees.  Most of the snow was off the trail.  And I just had to see if all that sweat I had put in with Kris had made a difference.  I could "feel" something different in me, but hadn't "tried" it.  I went out onto the trail near my house.  And I ran the fastest, most effortless 3 mile run I had ever done.  And I was hooked on her workouts.  I loved training with her.  She pushed me hard because she could see how much I wanted this dream.  She taught me that I have more in me than I ever knew and could do so much more than I ever thought possible.  She helped me tighten up my diet and the weight has continued to drop.  I trained with Kris for 6 months.  And though we don't presently train together due to schedules, she has continued to be my "on line" trainer, has become a good friend, and is one of my biggest supporter's in going after my dream.   And above all, she taught me to enjoy my training.  After all, I train so many more hours than the actual time I spend at a race.  If I didn't have fun with it, I wouldn't do it.
I was part of a triathlon relay team in early June and had a blast.  I signed up to do the SheRox Philadelphia Duathlon in August. My goal for the duathlon was not to walk any of it, and I accomplished that goal.  I turned 51 one week after that race.

While I do not know what the future has in store for me, I know that I will continue to chase that dream.  I've had people tell me "you're too old to be doing that" and "you'll never lose any weight, at your age".  And I've proven both of those statements to be untrue.  That pair of sweats that barely fit?  I found them today, they are way too big for me to even keep just to "hang out" in.
We don't choose when we are born or when we die, but in between we can choose how we live.   I don't want to look back on my life and say "I wish I had", I want to be able to say "I'm glad I did".