The Most Difficult Thing

"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. [Your] fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward."

Amelia Earhart said that...and it pretty much sums it up for me and my world right now. It's all about the decision to act, taking the bull by the horns, sh%# or get off the pot... Yup, it's time. Enough getting by, enough of it being "good enough," enough complacency...it's time to be great. No more regrets.

I've been "doing triathlon" for 4 years now and I've made big gains in strength, endurance, power and speed since beginning in the late summer of 2001. But the goal then and the goal now was, and still is, to be ready to do a half ironman by the summer that I turn 35. That's in 2007. Felt a lot further away 4 years ago - kind of a murky, hazy possibility, a goal that I might or might not reach, that I was only willing to divulge to a few close friends who I knew would not judge me if I decided it was too lofty. It's not too lofty. I know now that I can do it and I'm going to do it and it's time to get serious. It's time to lose the weight, gain the endurance and speed, and get ready. Because I don't want to set a goal and then bag it just because it's hard. Enough of that. No more regrets.

My bike's name is Amelia, named after the great woman pilot. She attained goals that were previously thought unattainable. And she didn't back down. And I won't either. It's time.