I've done two

I don't know how many races you have to be in before you're not a beginner anymore, but I'm pretty sure I still qualify. I entered two sprint triathlons this past year and enjoyed them both. My previous endurance sport was running, and I still do that too. In both sports I'm slow but have made slow improvement, just enough to keep me motivated to train and try to do better. So far both my races have had the swim in a pool, which made it easier; like most triathletes that don't have a swimming background it's the most difficult and the most stressful for me.

I'm prepared to do open-water swims in 2016. Well, maybe prepared isn't the right word, since there's no place to train in open water around here, even in the summer, but let's just say I'm going to do them anyway.

I have three major fitness-related goals for 2016. The triathlon goal is to finish my first Olympic-distance event. The others are to finish a marathon (I got a DNF this year when the race was canceled after 3 hours due to thunderstorms) and complete a Spartan Race. The training for the three events is very different, especially the Spartan, so it will be a challenge, but I'm confident I can finish all three, as long as I pace myself and the thunderstorms stay away. During the summer months (between maybe May and September) I'd like to do about one triathlon a month, mostly sprints. If all goes well I might consider a 70.3 race in 2017.