hello from mo

Welcome.
Hope to see you out there sometime....I'm 45 in MO and relatively new to this as well.

I got rid of my shoulder issues with some strength training....but, I'm no doctor.

Don't hesitate to do a shorter race too, if you want....just because you train further it's still all the same fun....just shorter.

I use whatever goggles work for me. Nothing special. I can get away without my glasses.
Some races, they set up tables right out of the swim for folks who need glasses and don't wear contacts....to get to their transition.
Considered prescription sunglasses? You can get them cheap from somewhere like zennioptical.com.
Glasses may be one less thing to go wrong? I don't know. I have zero experiences with contacts, but I know they can blow when "they go wrong".
I get all my regular glasses there...but I'm lucky I don't need them to run/ride so I just use whatever sunglasses I like.

thanks for the reply, i appreciate it.
i have to wear contacts, glasses wont work for me. but i will start trying some goggles an see what happens.