Watching men and women in their 50s, 60s, 70s and even 80s complete such a grueling event has inspired me to try my first tri. I'm 48. The one I'm aiming for is the Lavaman held on the big Island April 6. It's an Olympic distance tri at 1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run. Like a lot of people I'm nervous about the swim ( I just recently learned to breath and swim at the same time and I can only do that for a short distance now, so I have a lot of work to do before April. I bike 30 miles three days a week and am just starting to build up my running ( I have a torn ACL, which complicates the running since it is over rough terrain such as lava rock, sand and grass, but I've been putting up with that for years.)

Anyhow, I was wondering if there are any former Lavaman participants out there who can tell me if this might be a good first event to do? I bike out that way three times a week so I know the area and the biking won't be a problem. I know the A-Bay area as well. I'm mostly concerned if this event is just for the serious competitor or if there are a few novice, just-for-the-fun-of-it participants. My goal is not to win of course, but just to complete it. If all goes well I would enter the half-ironman in June here on the Big Island. But again, it all comes down to the swimming. If I can't get my confidence up and distance in time, I'll be pretty disappointed.

I'm going to start (as soon as Ironman is over next week) to do laps in the pool until I get good at breathing without gulping water (the tsunami warning sirens go off every time I try it in the ocean ... you know, the sudden receding water from me gulping it all up ...) then move out to the ocean (which is where I learned to swim)

Anyhow, any advice would be appreciated.

Aloha, Randy