Old Man, But Still Moving...

Just joined the forum, so figured I should follow protocol and add my introduction...

First, the basics -- male, just turned 54, in Seattle area.

Began to get serious about fitness in my late 40s. Started with running, gradually increasing distances from 5Ks up to 1/2 marathons. As I continued increasing distances toward full marathon, began having problems with knee/leg injuries. At that point, I realized that to continue challenging my fitness level, I would need to incorporate lower impact sports.

I started incorporating swimming last year. I was a self-taught swimmer, and at least was able to recognize that my mechanics would need improvement. Started working with a swim trainer -- and really realized how bad my mechanics were. It's been a long, slow slog with my swimming -- I'm still bad, but not nearly as bad as I used to be (and I know I'll continue to improve in the future).

Set a goal at the end of 2016 - to complete my first Tri before end of 2017. Bought a decent road bike at the start of this year (Giant Defy Disc) and added cycling to my cross-training routine. For the first half of this year, started more structured training to prepare for my first (Sprint) Tri. My sole goals for my first Tri were 1) don't drown, and 2) finish. Was able to achieve that goal on Memorial Day at the Moses Lake Spring Sprint Tri -- 1/4 mile swim, 10 mile bike, and 5K run. Had some "challenges" on the swim (involving the usual newbie swimmer issues) and an abysmal T1 time. After that, the bike and run went about as expected. Finish at 1:20:40, which was better than I was anticipating. Most importantly, I set that first baseline. And, interestingly enough, my body felt much less hammered than it does for a run of comparable duration.

My next Tri target is to work up to Olympic distance. I'll be doing some more Sprint Tris, while I'm pushing my training sessions up to prepare for Olympic distances. My next Tri is at end of this month (Black Hills Sprint Tri in Lacey, Wa) -- which will increase my swim distance to 1/2 mile (from 1/4 mile in my last Ti) and bike to 17.5 miles (from 10 miles in my last Ti).

Given my age, I'm paranoid about avoiding injury. My overall approach is to keep my rampups in distances and speeds to very small increments - and let the compounding effects of time and training consistency drive long term improvements. I'm becoming a fervent advocate for the benefits of wide cross-training in support of long term fitness - I do 2 days/week swimming (since that's my weakest link), 1 day/week running, 1 day/week brick (mostly bike + short run), 2 days/week strength & resistance training, and 1 day/week recovery/rest.

Other than that, I guess I'll just see where the future takes me on this....