IMO, unless one is a naturally gifted runner, he or she probably won't make it to the top of his or her AG.

Depending on how you define "top of his AG", I disagree. I was a mediocre runner in high school, and not particularly fast in college, either. I learned a lot about how to run from my college track team coaches, and got reasonably fast (for a non-runner) after college. I've won my AG at local races many times. I'm not going to win my AG at Kona any time. My best ever finish in a triathlon (4th overall out of 300-400 or so) had my relative split rankings at 5/9/23 in the swim/bike/run, respectively.

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"Go yell at an M&M"

You may surprise yourself. There will a weakest event for you and this where the wall will be apparent first. Don't abandon the other two disciplines in order to concentrate on the one that needs the most work. Over the time you will continue to improve. At the highest levels (Kona, world championships, etc) you will see that the best are close to the top in all three events. Being among the best in even one of the events is a stretch for most of us based on physical talent alone.

IMO you will be more limited due to your physical abilities in the run than you will be in the other events. Swimming can be greatly improved with proper technique and biking can improve from technique and mileage. However, if you can do well in 2 of the 3 and at least be solidly average in the other, you can do well in many smaller sprint/oly races. My running is not all that great, but I've been able to win my AG a few times. Focus on what you can do well and work to improve to your full potential in those areas. Keep plugging away at your weaknesses and even that will improve over time to a certain degree.

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Don

Tri-ing to have fun. Anything else is just a bonus!

You may not feel you have many gifts as a runner but not many people run track in college. So I believe that you may be in a high percentile of runners. Maybe not in the group that you hang out in but overall I would say you may be much higher than you think.

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Pain or damage don't end the world, or despair, or beatings. The world ends when you're dead, until then you're due for more punishment. Stand it like a man. And give some back.

Fitness is of course the main ingredient and that will come with conistent training over time, but I think many people overlook just just how far a little experience can take you. I'm no stud triathlete by any means but after my first few races things just started to "click" and I jumped many places in my AG standings without any significant increase in training. Triathlon has a lot of moving parts where you can gain time and once you start to get comfortable with the process, your results will improve. You learn a warm-up routine that works for you, you get smoother transitions, you don't feel as awkward going from sport to sport (allowing you to squeeze more out of each), you swim straighter, you pace better, you learn how to handle your nutrition, you get used to the "pain". None of these things takes any more fitness but they add up to a significant chunk of time. You can practice some of this but there is no substitute for actual race-day experience.

Go watch any local sprint or oly tri and you will see that only a small percentage of the competetors move through the race with confidence and don't fumble around giving up time. I'll bet if you've only done two races then you haven't scratched the surface of where you can be.

I was a high jumper.

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"Go yell at an M&M"

4 yrs ago I came in 26th in my age group in a local sprint triathlon. I just finished IM KOna in the top 20%, so yes you can do it but it takes hard work, dedication, consistency, and focus. I bet you have the physical gifts to compete with the top AGers but do you have all of the intangibles? I am not a natural swimmer, I had not ridden a bike for 20yrs and I had never run longer than 10miles so I didn't have much of an endurance background coming into this sport.

Another thing to consider: Is your wife supportive? If so, go for it. If not, marriage is more important than triathlon.

Glad you got the bug. Tri is a great sport, great community. Welcome to the party.

You ask a good question in "what does it take ...". AG talent covers a wide range. You can't control who shows up at any given race. You might toe the line with an ex-collegiate athlete or someone that's been training/racing for years. There's always going to be a few Studs/Studettes that show up to a race and wax everyone. Don't sweat it.

You can improve ... let there be no doubt. It takes time and a lot of effort. As you enter your 2nd race season, I'd suggest you focus on a time goal rather than your relative finish in your AG. You now have your personal baseline times from 2006 -- set a goal to improve by X minutes.

If you're racing sprints, perhaps your goal is to break 1:15 or an Oly to break break 2:30 ....

Again, you can't control who shows up or how the AG results shake out. Focus on what you can control. If it nets you a podium, all the sweeter.

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Bike Sherpa
Fully Assembled Bike Transporters
http://www.bikesherpa.com

Well even less people high jump in college, although it probably doesn't help as much in triathlon. :)

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Pain or damage don't end the world, or despair, or beatings. The world ends when you're dead, until then you're due for more punishment. Stand it like a man. And give some back.