As a newbie myself, my best advice would be to just read the posts on this site . It's a Wealth of Knowledge!!

Welcome and good luck. I am new here too. Was 267 5'8" in April 2008 and just meet my goal of sub 200 (198.2) by Jan 01. Looking forward to my first tri(s) here in mid 2009. +1 on the wealth of knowledge here!

Welcome!

It's hard to resist that sweet tea and those hush puppies, isn't it? So good!

A book I read which I really enjoyed is (don't be offended by the title) - Slow, Fat, Triathlete by Jayne Williams. She has a great attitude and sense of humor. Wonderful read.

I got back into exercising after the birth of my second child and then worked by way up to 5Ks and then sprint triathlons. I'm still working on those last 6-8 lbs, but I'm getting there.

Best of luck to you!

You can do your tri on your mountain bike. A lot of people do, so you would not be the only one. Set aside some money from each paycheck while you train and do your first few races on your mountain bike and then if you really get the tri-bug, you'll be ready to upgrade.

As far as swimming without water it looks like there is a lot of stuff here:
http://swimming.about.com/od/drylandexercise/Dryland_Workouts_for_Swimme...
When I was on my high school and club teams, we did lots of core work, some light weight high rep work with free weights in the weight room, and some resistance training with stretch cords in motions that mimic the swim stroke.

Tri shorts and tri top. Don't worry about the skin tight.

I did my first tri on a quasi mountain bike. I wasn't the only one by far.

Have fun with the little guy too...my son did a duathlon last year at age 7 and it was a blast. He's a natural swimmer so a tri would be fun. Just let him do his thing. Congrats on the new lifestyle and thanks for your service to our country!!

"there are a bunch of lakes around here but i can't (because of temp.) till late march."

Really? You live in Lakeland FL! The temps are pushing 80 down there now and water temps are in the 70s. I'll be lucky for 70 degree water temps mid summer. I can't swim because of temps (mostly because I can't swim on ice). You however, should be fine.

Thanks for your service in Iraq and welcome to the sport.

ah, spring fed lakes are awesome in the summer. there's one around tally that's just awesome! the southern baptist lifestyle got me after i graduated high school. i went from 255 to current weight of around 205-210 depending on body fluid levels, and i'll probly be around 195 when i have my first race. I don't wanna get below 190, because i'm a larger guy muscular wise and i'm not willing to risk my muscle at the expense of "being skinny", so, just enjoy it and have fun!

depends...it could be like borrowing a lawnmower or a movie or videogame(i know people who are adamant about their movies and game) or in some cases it could be like asking somebody to let you lay with their wife.

I am not a tri expert, but have been a water dog my whole life. I trained a number of Marines while I was enlisted some key elements to swimming. Don't freak out! Keep air in your lungs and you will float. The rest is just like your running or biking. One hand in front of the other and you will make it. Practice by moving your arms in a swimmers motion to break in your shoulders. Count your breathing while swinging arms. Every 4 hands, shoot the air out quick and inhale before your next hand swing.

College after the Marines kicked my butt. 50lbs of fat!! total loss of muscle. Now, I'm down from 235 to 200 and benching the back of a car again. WIll likely slim more (the goal) training for my first sprint tri in May. Love NC for the available water!

Welcome guys and thanks for your service!

My wife and I did our first tri on our older mountain bikes and I wore baggy swim trunks on the swim and baggy shorts for the bike and run. We weren't racing for the podium, but we had a great time. We liked it so much that we started saving for road bikes and, after three seasons of tris, finally got some tight fitting triathlon clothing. (I did my first half iron distance this last year and didn't have any tri specific stuff, just a fairly cheap road bike, some biking shorts, some running shorts, and an old shorty wet suit from Dad's ski boat. Nobody even looked at me twice.)

After you finish your first race, you will probably act just like everyone else here and start saving money for more gear. For right now, though, nobody will care what you ride or what you wear. Seriously, everyone will cheer you on just for bringing yourself to the starting line with them. Do what makes you feel comfortable so you can have a good time this first race.

Oh, I let people borrow my bikes all the time, but they are neither that nice nor my pride and joy. I love them and all, I'm just happy letting other people share in the love. Never hurts to ask to borrow a bike.

Guys thanks for your service. Welcome I am still new around here and completed my first sprint this past fall.

I too am a southerner and have never met any food that can't be fried and then eaten.

Now on to the borrowing a bike question. It depends on the person and the current situation. I have a buddy that I could ask to borrow a Mt. bike from but it would be one of his old bikes. He would probably let me take the wife for a spin before he would let me borrow his baby that he bought this past fall. I don't loan my bike it would be akin to my loaning my chainsaw. Now the wife do you want her :-) Just kidding.

Again welcome and there were a lot of Mt.bikes at my tri this past fall. Probably better than 50%.