New Swimmer from South Carolina

Hi Everyone!  My name is Jay and myself and two friends are deciding to do a sprint triathlon.  I had always wanted to do one as a swimmer in high school but I hated running because I was bad at it and I didn't have the motivation to become a better.   I also don't really know anything about cycling.  My friend came back from his summer job recently and said he wanted to do a triathlon and told me I should do it with him.  I immediately got fired up about it and now that I'm 22 and more disciplined I think it's a good time.  I'm starting the Olympic 3x Balanced plan even though we are only doing a sprint triathlon because I am in decent running shape now (mainly because of backpacking) and my swimming has always been fine.  I'm easing into the plan this week and starting it full force next week.