Hi

lurked here a bit - figured I'd go ahead, take the plunge, introduce myself and maybe take the opportunity to pose a couple of questions.

I'm 28, and I'm a little overweight, and still slightly out of shape. I swam a bit in highschool, made all-american in a couple of events, but I was 100pct sprint - I hated everything over 200 yds (I have a pretty big build - 5'11 220lbs - was maybe 195 in highschool) I haven't paid much attention to the swim leg yet, as my form is pretty solid - I think it's a matter of cranking out the practice yards. Two years ago, I did the Hotter than Hell Hundred (I only did 100km - not 100 miles) on my mountain bike, but stopped cycling shortly thereafter.

I've been getting back in shape for the last 2 months or so and I'm really pleased with my progress thus far - I had never run farther than about 2 miles in my life and i'm up to biking 20 (1hr 5min), followed immediately by a 4.5 (39min) mile run.

Initially I was just trying to get in shape enough to do a sprint tri, but I've suprised myself on the running, so I'm thinking maybe i'll try to do one with a 10k run instead (I'm almost positive the running leg is going to be the bottle neck for me)

QUESTION 1: I find it a lot easier to bike first and then run - I think I get into my 2nd wind (or whatever) during the bike and so I'm not so focused on how hard it is to run when i first start running. Is there a good reason not to train this way... SHOULD I do some running workouts without biking first?

QUESTION 2: So far I've trained almost entirely solo. I really want to stick with it, and I've been unable to find someone who wants to train with me on a somewhat consistent basis. I'm thinking I'd like to join some sort of club - either TRI or maybe just running - that's where I need the most help / focus. What things should I look for in a club? How much is reasonable to pay for membership - are there free ones? I live in Dallas, TX - can someone point me in the right direction to look for clubs of this sort?

Thanks in advance!

Keith

PS - This is an excellent site - Keep up the good work.