I Wanna Tri!

Adorable Wife here. I thought a 5k or 10k,would be my limit, maybe always. My goal was to just get fast at the sprint distances;
A- Because I didn't know if I could ever push myself further than that,
B- Because then running would seem more action packed like the sports I knew, and
C- Because I may just get too bored running any further.

However, while I watched coach dive into the water with hundreds of people, and their splashing sent tiny waves to the beach, I felt I rush of excitement I hadn't had at any other race. I thought about how fun it would be to jostle for position, get kicked in the face, and push through. Physical contact. That was missing from running. As he emerged from the water, though, in the middle of the pack, I wondered if this was something I could really handle, I mean I was still struggling to run a 5k.

Too many doubts started to fill my head about being able to complete it in a decent time or at all. I have never really biked or swam before, I could totally embarrass myself. Once Jesse crossed the finish line, he was exhausted and I was proud of his time, but he wasn't satisfied.

Well, if he has trouble, how can I do it?

I had started to push this short lived dream away when I looked out to the water and saw heads bobbing up and down. It was some of the Try a Tri participants, still out there in the water, still making their way to the transition. I had seem some of these competitors before hand and a lot were not in top physical condition, but here they were, giving it their all and accomplishing their goals.

Why then am I so afraid to try things I feel I won't be good at? Why can't I do things that just make me feel good and proud, even if I'm not the best at it?

If I feel I can't succeed or I may embarrass myself at something, I tend not to try it at all. It is one of my worst qualities. Running has been helping me with that, but now I just need to not be afraid to push to the next level. So as we were driving away from the Chelan Man and I saw a group of women walking the 5k portion of the "try a tri" and looking like they were having a blast doing so, I turned to coach and said "I wanna do one!"

Now I have found my first baby Triathlon to do. It has short distances of everything, even shorter then a sprint, which is good, since I don't have a whole lot of time to train. It is the Cottage Lake Tri and Tri Again in Woodinville, WA on Sept 11th. I am a little sad because I haven't found anyone crazy enough to do it with me yet and I have never done a race alone. I think I may fall in love with triathlon. They seem a step closer to the sports I love, but I am still reaching for my goal of a quick 5k, too. Now I just need to find a decent enough bike on craigslist so I can train, but have no idea what to do about swimming since a gym membership is out of the financial question! Luckily the fun of it will just be going out there and saying I did it. I TRIed! Who cares if I have to doggy paddle and walk?

Any new or experienced triathletes out there with good tips for quick training? And possibly training w/o a pool? The distances are 400 yd swim, 9 mile bike, 1.5 mile run.