I'll offer the somewhat short version of my story. Those of you who've seen my on the WISH board or follow with me on facebook at all may well have heard some of this.
My path to getting healthier started a little over a year and a half ago now. A good friend and (now former) coworker of mine had been into 5k races and the like for some time, and was getting pretty stoked about the idea of training for a half marathon that fall. She always seemed so pumped about it, and it piqued my interest a bit. Hearing about the WDW marathon and the like helped even more.
Soooo... one day I was talking to her and said I was gonna try the whole running thing, because eventually I wanted to run a marathon. A few days later, after getting some basic clothing and the like, I headed out for some running and walking. I was winded after a minute or so, but on my way to my first 5K. Nine months, and 26.2 miles later, I felt like I could do anything.
I'm about 20 pounds down from the weight I started. For a short while I was making a more concentrated effort on the weight-loss side of it, but I found that to come at serious detriment to my overall training (e.g. feeling light-headed a lot, not having good energy when out running, etc). Now, my weight loss isn't specifically consistent or quick, but is slow and steady nonetheless. More importantly, though, my overall fitness, endurance, and generally well-being are pretty good.
Fast forward to last November, when my wife and I split up, and I found myself with an interesting combination of a lot more time on my hands, but a lot less motivation (at least for a while). My motivation has since come back, and the extra time I have is being put to pretty good use. At least three nights a week are spent doing running or similar high-intensity cardio (1 hour total workout time is considered short now), with a few shorter and/or strength workouts kind of sprinkled in at other times.
I haven't picked a spring marathon yet (that said, anyone with a good suggestion please let me know), but apart from that, next major event will be the Muddy Buddy in May. After that, I have something else on deck, a new level of craziness, but I don't want to say much more than that just yet.
Never too late to get into shape. Motivation can be an interesting thing. It's often said of running that it's a solo sport, and except for the super-elite, you don't really have to worry about competitors. One thing I've learned though, and it's actually the source of my own motivation, is that even in a solo sport, there is a definite competitor. One that is very real. My competitor starts running, much like I do, just as the gun goes off. Unlike me though, my competitor runs perfectly even splits, never once stops, and is always waiting for me at the finish line. My competitor is everyone's competitor, and ticks off one second at a time. A solo sport, yes, but it's always runner vs. the clock. There is no better motivation.