others' input

I have but two seasons under my belt, the first of sprints and the second with a couple of Olys. The training plans will serve you very well. You can go into the races confident that you will be fit to compete at the distances. The tricky stuff is the courses, the weather, nutrition, and your own race tactics. For example, I found an article about Oly nutrition and tactics that had a great deal of good advice. The people here will give you plenty of friendly and helpful advice on questions of the most excructiatingly minute of details. Knowing the error of my own ways, I've been able to avoid a number of pitfalls through the advice and experience of the people on BT.

Have fun!

After completing my first sprint tri this past July, I picked the 16-week run-focused Oly plan and really liked it. I think it maxed out around 9 hours/week. For me, the greatest benefit of using a plan was the "discipline." Seeing the graphs (actual vs. planned) was a big motivator. I also learned a lot about what works best for me in terms of progression and sequence of workouts. And it worked! I had a great race last weekend and felt more than well prepared.

Pick a plan by the ending rather than the beginning. Decide where you want to be in 16 or 20 weeks. Don't get fooled by "lower" volume in the beginning. The volume will soon pick up in the plans. It's more important to be consistent than to go all out and then nurse injuries or be sick from over-training. I've learned that the hard way! I got a sinus infection mid-plan because I thought I could handle more than the plan called for and upped all the workouts by 20%. Well, then I was out cold for a whole week.

Good luck!