Introduction from MI

Hi there!

I've been thinking about attempting a triathlon for a few months now and finally signed up for one last Saturday that is in 5 weeks (sprint distance). I am incredibly excited and nervous!

Background:

I have been a runner and mountain biker for awhile now and sold my mountain bike last fall and purchased a road bike this spring. I was a decent runner and placed decently in a few races until reconstructive knee surgery about 16 months ago at which point I gained approx. 30 lbs. and could not run consistently for 7 months (last September) The road to recovery has been long and frustrating. The road bike was bought to assist in cross training and prevent any more injuires while mountain biking (that's how I tore my ACL). But I have fallen in love with cycling on the roads which was unexpected. I live in Traverse City, Michigan and we have some incredibly beautiful areas to ride.

After talking with a few friends who have done some tri's I thought it would be something I would enjoy. I am very excited, but also very nervous. My goal is to finish and not kill myself on the swim as that is the area I am least experienced in. So far I have done a couple run-bike-run workouts and one swim-bike-run workout with fast transitions and it completely kicked my a#@ despite the fact it was barely over half of what I will face on race day. I have a long way to go, but I am very determined.

I have been perusing these forums for a couple weeks prior to posting and have been overwhelmed by the support you all give each other. I look forward to becoming a part of the triathlete community as it appears to be a sincere and genuine one. I have already learned a lot from what I've read here and look forward to learning a lot more as the amount of knowledge on these forums and this site are incredible. Since my experience is zero I know I need to be well prepared mentally as well as physically.

As I stated, I live in northern Michigan and if anybody else is in the area and would like to train I would definitely be interested as right now I do not have a workout partner. My e-mail is [email protected]. I plan on doing a few more tri's later this summer/fall in the area.

On a personal note, I am 27, am married, and have two children. I work in public accounting as an auditor.

Again, I look forward to talking to you all and am excited to be here!

Cheers,

Brian