A newbie (sort of) from the Caribbean

Greetings all!

I'm new to the boards, but not to the website.... (I've been haunting the boards for a few weeks now )

I'm interested in competing in triathlon, but havn't been able to bring all the pieces together yet to actually make it work. I live in the Cayman Islands and was supposed to be competing in the sprint tri here in Nov., but couldn't afford to buy a bike. (I have an old clunker that weighs about 700 pounds and would be ridiculous to try to use in a triathlon) I kind of gave up my training half way through this year, figuring it wasn't worth it...

However, I'll be moving to the states next year and plan on competing in a sprint triathlon in Wyoming in July. (Where I'll be moving to) So, I need to get my lazy but back into shape!!!

I absolutely love, love, love this site!! I need to loose about 40lbs to get back into the shape I was in 5 years ago. I was running and lifting weights regularly back then and was 2 weeks away from running my first marathon when I broke my back. I then had to have extensive surgery the following year to repair and rebuild the vertebrea and have been a mushroom ever since!!

Well the back is fine now, but I've lost all my muscle tone and my cardio strength. I was hoping that this triathlon in Nov. would motivate me to get back into shape, but the expenses just overwhelmed me (It's obscenely expensive living in the Cayman Islands!!!). But, I know have a new set of goals and a renewed desire to get back into shape and do triathlon.

I'm hoping to be able to find the support and encouragment here I've been looking for. I think I can, since you guys all seems to be so nice to each other here.

I want to join one of your wight-loss challenges, but didn't want to just butt into a thread unannounced. So, here I am! Can I join in on the fun??!!