If this doesn't get me in shape, NOTHING will...

Newbie un-lurking here....

A couple months ago, I arrived at THAT point... it's the point at which dissatisfaction with being out-of-shape finally overcomes the inertia to change, and I dragged my flabby butt to the YMCA to see if I could swim a lap or two without drowning. Turns out fat floats, and after getting in about 500 yards I left thinking, okay... I can do this (I grew up around water, and have always been a relatively strong swimmer, thank heavens!). Not dying was encouraging. :-)

Next, I dragged my 20+ year-old road bike out of the garage. It's a Raleigh Tri-Lite that I used both for commuting and fun as a young adult. Took it to my local bike shop, and they put it back into ride-able shape for me without a single snarky comment about the downtube shifters. Put it on a magnetic trainer that I failed to add to the yard sale pile for over ten years, and forced myself to pedal for ten minutes. Again, I failed to die. The next day I did fifteen minutes, and a couple days later I sweated through twenty.

So the next day, I went absolutely insane and entered myself in the Bonelli Park (CA) Turkey Tri thinking it was the same distance as the Steamboat Express that takes place at the same location. Turns out this is a longish sprint... 800yd swim, 14-mile bike, 4.5-mile run. Whoops. It's not until Thanksgiving weekend, but when I realized what I'd gotten myself into, I was a little unnerved.  Not only did I not run, I didn't even LIKE to run. Ouch.

So... I took a friend's recommendation and started the Couch-to-5K program a little over three weeks ago. It was going okay (I hated life while running, but survived) until tonight, when I joined a beginner's training run being put on by a new running shop in the neighborhood. They put me in the "runners" group, consisting of a few guys who were going to run a mile straight-through, and I thought that might possibly kill me. Turns out I not only went the distance... I didn't find it to be that difficult. I actually *ran* a mile. Whoa.

And... that's where I am now.  My overall goal is general fitness, as I'm facing my 43rd birthday next week and I'm feeling like this is that "use-it-or-lose-it" moment that I'd better do something about. The triathlon... that's just a deadline to keep me on track. My goal with respect to the tri is to finish without puking, and without injuring myself in the process. The swim should be no problem--I've put in some decent pool time over the years, and I've discovered that comes back quickly. It's the bike and run I need to focus on. so for now, I've been alternating bike/run days six days a week (Monday is an off day), and using my swim workouts to double up because those don't drain me as much. Also do strength training 3x a week after my runs. Not sure how well-prepared this will get me by late November, but I'm planning to join a masters' swim club in a couple weeks, and work in some bricks in early November.  Any other suggestions?  This will be my first-ever tri.

Thanks in advance for any tips you've got to share... :-)