*Super* novice advice for just starting the journey!

I can definitely pass on advice given to me. There are a good number of decent sprint training programs on this website and on the internet. I would take a look at those to get an idea of what training looks like. If you know you are weak in one area, focus on that area until you get stronger!

If at all possible, hire a swim coach to learn the proper form for crawl/freestyle. I learned how to swim when I was in fifth grade, but never really swam until two years ago. It took me months to feel like I was making any progress, and still longer to feel comfortable swimming. From experience, be patience with swimming. I cannot say that any part of swimming came easy for me, especially learning proper form. I talk with a lot of people, and the vast majority say that they have never felt as un-athletic as they did while swimming laps. The only way to improve in swimming is to swim and get the basics down. Eventually, I think weight lifting would help, but I think to be able to swim well, a lot of it is just spending time getting comfortable in the water.

There are tons of youtube videos from olympic swimmers working with swim brands to put proper swimming techniques videos up. Take the time to search from some of these and do the drills in the water. When I was first learning, I felt so silly doing drills. Now, I often go back to basic drills because they make the difference. Though not free, the total immersion book helped me learn to be more efficient with swimming. I actually mainly learned to do butterfly stroke from watching youtube videos over and over and over. I would recommend getting a kickboard and pullbouy if your pool doesn't offer those. They help isolate parts of your stroke so you can focus on technique without exhausting yourself. You may be lucky to get some advice from other swimmers or coachs while swimming!

Also, make sure you know lap swimming etiquette. I think this gets looked over often, but as someone who has had others join my lane and swim straight into me, I cannot stress the importance. Read the rules of the pool to know if lanes are assigned by fast/medium/slow. Always alert a swimmer already in the lane that you plan to join them (either circle swimming or splitting the lane), and make sure to stick to your side of the lane. If someone touches your foot, pause at the wall to let them pass.

For the bike, maybe see if a friend or family member can loan you one until you actually participate in a triathlon and decide its something you truly want to continue with. Bikes are expensive, even used ones in my opinion. I am currently using bikes at the gym instead of biking on a real bike. Go by time and RPMs instead of by mileage on the bike. The machines aren't are never calibrated.

I hope this helps! Form another 20-something year old girl, best of luck!!!!

A lot of your questions you'll figure out along the way. Ideally, get a bike as soon as possible to take advantage of the warmer months. There are plenty of training plans available on this website. You don't need a coach to train and race, you can learn to swim via you tube and practice. Don't over complicate things, focus on the basics of the three sports. Good luck.

Looking at plans here is good advice. Makes sense to work on basic foundation of fitness. It won't take a year. I'm guessing you can be in good shape in three months and then start and stick with a plan here. I like doing the custom plans, you can adjust how long you want it to be and what days you want to do b,s, or run.
I find putting my workouts on the log here helpful.

It really is a process. Think one workout at a time.