I Want To Tri

I Want To Tri:

I'm telling you what..every time I jump on the stationary bike or dive into the pool, the more and more I think about doing a Tri. I have even been researching some local tri's around Omaha and lurking on tri websites for training advice. I did find one that will happen in May and it is an all women's triathlon. Of course with Omaha weather, I know the options of tri races in the local area are slim.

When it comes to the swimming, I think I am decent. I can now swim a mile and a half but I am still swimming 100 yards in two minutes (pretty slow). I could improve this by adding in some intervals.

Running...well considering my ankle is more on and off then anything anymore I am just going to see how it feels come Spring. I am hoping the more I continue to stretch it and stay off of it when it comes to running, it will improve. I plan on doing a Sprint Tri for my first one, so I think I can handle the 5k run.

Now the biking is what I am worried about. First of all I just have a mountain bike, which gets around on the roads fine but it is nothing fancy. I was amazed at how much Tri bikes are and I will not spend an arm and leg on a bike until I know that I am more serious about racing. Also, how the heck do you go about learning how to change tires and the chains on your bike...I am horrible about maintenance. Finally, I really hate the idea of training on city roads. I have known several people who have been killed from cycling on roads and I am deathly afraid to go that route. I wonder if I could perform just as good with doing some of my rides on the stationary bike using intervals.

If anyone of you have done a Tri, help...I need advice!!