Hi! Stumbled on this group and since I'm training for my first 2 triathlons, thought I should join up. A little about me: 6 years ago I was a 200 pound, 2 pack a day smoker. I woke up one morning and decided I was sick and tired of always being in pain, out of breath, and ruled by binges, so I made up my mind to change my life. i quit smoking for once and for all, and put on another 20 lbs. About 6 months later I started watching my diet and I took up running. I could only run 30 seconds before I needed to walk, but I plugged away and kept increasing the intervals.

There have been ups and downs, but overall, I'm 60 lbs lighter than I was. I've competed in numerous 5ks and 10ks, done a couple of half marathons and one full marathon. Last year I competed as part of a relay team for my company's Triathlon team. i was the runner which meant I had to get there early and then wait around for the swimmer and the biker to finish. I decided that was ridiculous - I'm fully capable of swimming and biking! This year I'll be doing the whole thing myself. Its the Nautica Malibu classic race in September - an 800m swim; 18mi bike & 4 mi run. One month prior, I'm going to do the Hansen Dam sprint tri so I can "get my feet wet' so to speak.

I started my real training a month ago and things have been going really well. I'm new to biking so concentrating on that so I can build my skill and get faster. I've been hitting the pool regularly and yesterday I did my first open water swim in the ocean. I don't know how much I'll like the actual race, but I'm loving the training so far!

Well, that's me. Nice to meet you!