Complete Newbie

I stumbled upon the site last week and I decided to jump in with both feet.

My story is your basic, my life has been a trainwreck...out of shape, poor eating habits...you know the song and dance.

The only experience I have with endurance training is this story:  Sitting around one night drinking beer and eating chicken wings some of my buddies bet me that I would not enter and finish a half-marathon...never ever bet me that I won't do something (especially with 6 or 12 beers in me).  Mind you at the time, I weighed about 375 and had never ran a step (not one----ever).  I took their bet and I did it.  I did enter, I did run and I did finish...however I am sure that two turtles and four great-grandmas with walkers and canes finished before I did.

Moving the story up a couple of years, divorce and general apathy had put back all of the weight that I lost while running, so I had Lap-Band surgery done in October of 2007.  So far I am the happiest I have ever been with my wieght and training.  However I was looking for a challenge of some sort to motivate me....gyms get boring without having something I am looking forward to doing at the end.  I was thinking about another half-marathon but if you have ever been to Missouri in the middle of the summer, you know that the humidity and heat are horrid, so maybe I will do that in the fall.  What to do in the meantime, my wife suggested a triathlon.  I looked at her like she had lost her damn mind.   But a couple of days of searching and thinking I decided that I can do this as well.

So my goal is to be ready for a sprint in Republic, MO on August 23, 2008.  I am determined.  I will do this.

If you are still with me through this winding tail...Wow. 

 Thanks

Eric