Testing the Waters

Wow... so... yeah... I just signed up for my first triathlon. Last night I registered for the Top Gun sprint triathlon at Ft. Desoto Park coming up at the end of July. I have considered doing a triathlon for some time, but finally decided to sign up and do it. I have been on a kick to loose some weight lately as I went from about 160lbs to 210lbs in the last three years. Most of the guys at the shop (flying Fish) do triathlons and their fitness and drive have motivated me to get back in shape, as in my mtb racing days. It was really merely whim that drove me to sign up for this tri as my interest over the last few years has not been geared towards triathlons, but as I have been running a lot lately, and my skill on the bicycle... it just made sense. So the training begins... or rather continues... this tri will be a continuation of my weight loss project but also an adventure in territories yet unexplored by myself. I have competed in many difficult types of racing: XC racing, single speed racing, 6 hour mtb racing, a 13 hour race, several long distance tours, two Trail to Trail Races (in the all MtB Catergory, even one before the all mountain catergory was available) a couple unofficial brevets(120+ miles in a day), and even the Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race which is well renown long distance mountain bike race that takes place in the mountains of Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina(Which I did on a rigid single speed mountain bike). But a triathlon is something that I dont have to explain when bragging of my accomplishments. Everyone knows what a triathlon is, and the difficulties associated with it are known well enough by the lay person that I dont have to go into any great detail over what the acronyms mean, or how much climbing was involved, or how far I went, or how difficult it was on my type of bike. I am excited to test the waters, literally and figuratively, with triathlon racing, and to add it to my repertoire of endurance adventures. I will be looking to this triathlon as the first, but possibly not the last, of my adventures in triathlon racing.