Athena / Filly Newbie

I posted this in the intro forum, but it's copied here...since I just now discovered this forum~! 

 Hello all! I am just now "pimping" my profile, getting set up, etc. but I want to introduce myself. My name is Leslie, I've been in the Air Force for over 18 years (ALMOST RETIRED YAY), am just under 40 years old, divorced (not really by choice), and beginning a Master's program at Liberty University. As a member of the Air Force, basic fitness is nothing new; however, due to stress of divorce, depression and anxiety, lack of self control, and general poor health management, I have managed to gain a few pounds in the past couple of years. I have decided, though, that I am going to reverse that trend now and enter my 40s in tip top shape! I am not quite a "coucher" for lack of a better term, I do have a background in running, although it is primarily "slow and steady" and I have never won any races, save for the one mini-tri I did a few years ago in which I was the ONLY athena racer LOL.

I have been running 4-6 days per week for the past six weeks or so. I am now running a 5K route as my long run, and I feel like I could run much longer, and in fact probably run the 5K as a regular route. I would like to start working on my speed in the next week or two, since it takes me about 42-43 minutes to run the 5K (and that time includes warm-up walking in the 5K).

I have my Air Force PT test in October and I need to get my time down--I am WAY too slow. It is only a 1.5 mile run, but I want to do it in less than 15 minutes.

I bought a mountain bike the other day, but not an expensive one. My goal is to just get used to being on a bike again, riding it regularly, and then preparing for some duathlon races. I just checked the local race schedule, and a sprint du is scheduled in a nearby town in early December. I think I can do that...it's 17 weeks away, so it is not too close for me to train for it, is it?

My running life is okay but it needs improvement speed wise. My biking is SUPER beginner: I had a death grip on the handles the other night when I test drove it. I went for the mountain bike because road bikes scare the living daylights out of me...LOL...and I do know that I will upgrade to a road bike and eventually a tri-bike, but for now a mountain bike is helping me get over the fear, learn to shift the gears correctly, and build some endurance. At the moment, I'm just enjoying having a bike again and becoming familiar with it.

 So my goals are to get my running down to 10 minute or less minute mile by mid-October (this is a guess, since I have not been assigned a testing date as of yet) and ride at least 3-4 times per week in order to get really comfy on the bike.

Once that PT test is out of the way...then I want to train for that Duathlon in December.

 Can this be done, and what is the best strategy? I see there are lots of training programs on the site, but in this situation, it's really hard to choose. So...I need all the advice and support I can get!!

 Oh...and one more thing...my swimming SUCKS. I practically dog-paddled my way through that mini-tri I did a few years ago. SERIOUSLY. LOL...I want to get the biking and running down first, as swimming resources (ie money for a coach and pool fees) are at a low at the moment. I will, however, be moving next to a lake in 18 months. I would like to hire a coach at that point and learn proper swimming form (something you just can't get from a book) so that I can begin training for my first sprint tri.

This is a great site! I am sure it will take me several days to learn my way around it. I'm going to post this to my profile training log..I hope some of you good people will connect with me as I can use all the friends I can get!

 Leslie G