Give us a little more information. What distance tri do you want to do? Here they are, roughly.



Sprint 600m/12 miles/3 miles

International/Olympic 1500/40k/10k

Half Ironman 1.5 miles/56 miles/13 miles

Ironman 2.5 miles/112 miles/ 26 miles

How is your running for distance? What kind of distances/time are you biking?

Lots of info already on the web. Check out http://www.slowtwitch.com/...ginner/beginner.html or http://www.trinewbies.com/

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Sounds like your 2/3 of the way there. Pick a race and work on your swimming until you can easily swim the race distance. When you work on swimming, work on technique to begin with. Once your swim skills get better it becomes much easier to train because you don't get so tired so quick. I came to triathlon from biking and running and I picked a local sprint distance with a short swim to begin with. Looking at my training log from when I first started, I swam 2-3x a week, ran 2-3x a week and biked 2-3x a week. I trained for about 8 weeks about 3-7 hours a week before my first race. Most of that time was getting my swim endurance to the point I didn't think I would drown.

I am 34 and of little athletic ability. But when I did my first tri I was of NO athletic ability. I was 32, 305 lbs, could not run more than 30 seconds and could not ride faster than 12 miles an hour and that was almost sprinting. From that base line I did a sprint in two months, although I did throw up twice going up a bridge in Miami and walked the 3 miles with terrible blisters. But I got hooked. What I am trying to get to is don't plan on doing one within a year, do one in August. You are probably in more than sufficient physical condition to complete one now. Then gear up for an oly next year and a half and full the following.

BTW, currently at 228 (I am 6'3") and have a base of 40 - 50 mile rides on Sat and 7 - 9 miles runs on Sunday's

FAT CLYDESDALE'S RULE

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The Cuban Comet
(Comets are unbelievably slow over Cuba)

Why wait? You're ready now. Rudy's Braveheart Triathlon is July 12 and it's in your area. Check Active.com. The order is reversed - run 5k, bike 10(?) miles, then swim 150 yd. in a pool. If that's too soon, there's the Tinsel Tri in Hemet in early December. Similar format. Check out Trievents.com as well. They have events shorter than sprint where the swim is around 200 yd. in a lake. Several in the spring and I think their Steamboat Tri in October has an abreviated race as well.

It sounds like your swimming needs the most work. Sprint distance starts around 500yds or more but don't stop there. You should be in the pool 2-3 times a week; more if you can manage it.

Running. Your mile time is good but what matters is your 5K, 10K, etc. You need endurance. It also helps to practice running after biking (bricks).

I don't think you'd have any problem with any of the races I mentioned. Once you've actually done a race, it will be clear where you need to focus your training.

Good luck.

Larry

I'm relatively new to triathlon, this being my first season. From your mile pace it sounds like you already have a good base of aerobic fitness. From your description of your swimming, it sounds like that's your weakness. Some suggestions:

1. Triathlon has this reputation as an intimidating sport that only the super-elite mega-trained athlete can participate in. It's not. So to get some multisport experience under your belt, enter a duathlon. A "du" is usually run-bike-run, which plays to the events you're already strong in. Find a sprint distance du in the next few weeks, enter it, and finish. You're certainly fit enough, and you'll finish ahead of an awful lot of people. You'll be amazed at how much more comfortable you feel with the whole concept of multisport, and you'll also have a much better sense of what you need to work on for triathlon training.
2. Get inspired. Training for a triathlon is kind of a pain in the ass, because there's so many different things you have to juggle as part of the training program. If you don't have some serious internal motivation, it may be tough to keep up the training regimen you need to meet your goals.
3. Someone already suggested that you pick a distance. I'd be more specific than that. Pick a distance and a goal time for each leg of the event. Maybe even pick a specific race and pay the registration fee to enter. Sounds like you already have a good feel for how far and how fast you can go on the bike and the run, so pick your distance goals based on that.
4. Focus on your swimming. I don't know how many of my fellow newbies have told me "I'll be fine once I get past the swim". You need to get comfortable in the water, which means improving technique and strength, in that order. Find a swim team or coach or somebody to help you work on technique and put in some distance in the pool regularly. It's going to SUCK for a while -- stick with it. Your heart will be pounding, your lungs will hurt, and you'll find yourself asking how come you can run a 5:25 mile but you're so out of breath swimming. Then (if you have the same experience I did) one day it'll click and you'll find yourself gliding through the water, and you'll feel like a million bucks.
5. After that, there are a million resources online for training programs for various distances. Folks in this forum also give great advice. I'm sure you'll be able to find a program that works for you.

Lee

The other posters are probably right, you could do a triathlon now if you wanted to. You already run better than most of the people in most of the races I've seen.

One good way to improve your swim is to work out with a local Masters Swim group. I put this off for a year or so, but my swimming was so bad that I finally decided to swim with masters and it was the best single thing I could have done. Check out their web site here and search for a club near you:

http://www.usms.org/

You can do it!

Richard

I did my first sprint tri with no specific triathlon training in 2001. I biked 2 to 4 times a week and run about 2 times. I didn't swim regular but I always was a decent swimmer.
This triathlon I did with my mountain bike and no bike shoes (running shoes with toe straps).
For the other triathlon and 2 duathlons this season I continued to bike and run regular and tried to swin once or twice a week.

Last year I trained more serious. I swam once a week (sometimes twice) , cycled about 3 times and run 2-3 times.

Check http://www.triathletemag.com/exec/triathlete/tips.cfm?publicationID=92 or http://trinewbies.com/1TP.htm for training plans and tips.

And one important thing is: KEEP IT FUN!

Felix

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http://www.weilenmann.ch.vu

First, inhale some water so that you get bronchospasms, then hit yourself in the thighs with a two-by-four until they are swollen and sore, then go run a 5K at top speed. Make sure you hurl at least twice. Now, you know what doing a triathlon should feel like. Oh, don't forget to wear a helmet, with the strap pulled up so tight you can't open your mouth!

Of course, I'm kidding, just a little. You can obviously already do a triathlon...even with your weak swim. You won't win, but that's not the point for almost everyone else out there. It's a lifestyle thing. You may be able to finish at the top soon, though, if you get your swim up to speed, and if your biking is as good as your running.

One word of caution....addiction. It can happen in triathletes, just look around at one of the races...a bunch of workout junkies! In a couple of years, you may be standing in front of a support group saying, "Hi, my name is eatfiber, and I'm a triathlete."

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

http://www.martygaal.com/words/firsttri.html

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Marty Gaal, CSCS
One Step Beyond Coaching
Triangle Open Water Swim Series | Old School Aquathon Series
Powerstroke® Freestyle Technique DVD