Runner turning to triathlons...jumping in with both feet!

I have been in the triathlon world of observers and now I have decided to make the leap into the world of participants. My wife and I just finished our second marathon so we are relatively fit but we wanted to keep our training fresh and our bodies fresh by not pounding the pavement as much as we need to during Marathon training. This is how the idea of trying triathlon came about. And now after much internet surfing and trying to figure out where to start, we stumbled onto this site. I think it is awesome and I plan on using it as much as possible!

Our first necessity was to select a goal. We have noticed that we do not work that well without a specific goal and some sort of laid out training program to keep us motivated. Sad, perhaps, but true and important to recognize this fact. My eventual goal is to complete an Ironman. Pretty big dreams, I know. But at one point the idea of a marathon seemed like it was a pretty big dream! We have already decided to try a sprint and an Olympic distance early next season here in Guatemala, where we live. We have also signed up for the Vineman 1/2 IM on July 31st, '05. Our goal? To finish in one piece.

This last decision may prove to be an overzealous one, but we thought about it for a while and knew that a trip to Northern California and a HUGE challenge, would be just the thing to keep us motivated until summer. Of course it didn't help that I bought the book "Becoming an Ironman" that has these awesome motivational stories about people who did their first IM's. There is one story of a couple who signed up for IM Lake Placid and had never done a triathlon before..and they had kids! They did great, of course. Needless to say, we made the commitment and went for it.

Now the journey begins. We obviously have a strong running base and should be able to keep that one. The swim worries both of us as we have never been swimmers, but we figure it is possible. I truly believe that with the bike, it is mostly about putting in the hours, to develop those muscles. I am not an avid rider, but I have gone through phases where I have done more biking than anything else.

Well there it is! There I am. You folks on this site are so encouraging and positive and this is part of the reason we are doing this, so don't let us down now :-)

Edited by lifeisgood 2004-11-16 7:22 PM