Backgrounder on the "Contestants"

The Honest Truth:
We are not the couch to criterion types. Both of us have had athletic success outside of triathlons as youths or young adults as part of teams and individually. So, we started triathlons to do something together...we're focused on improving our efforts, but not aiming at the podium. I'd like to think we're the Everymen of triathlons. We're not early-middle aged folks looking to prove to ourselves that we can complete a race and we're not blessed with the free time to focus many more hours per week to get to the Ironman level. But, we are serious about training and having fun.

The Facts:
Contestant #1 (Male) is a former college distance swimmer. He's relatively new to cycling and HATES running. So his strongest area is the water, he gets by with the bike, and struggles to enjoy even a 1K run, let alone 5K. He gets a euphoric high when fellow competitors moan about the swim course being too long. The only thing that keeps him going to the gym is competing in triathlons with his wife.

Contestant #1 Improvement Areas:
Swim: Consistent training in conjunction with the bike and run...instead of endloading all the swim training.
Bike: More seat time on the road and less on a exercise bike at the gym.
Run: Getting over the mental hurdle of not enjoying running. (Tips please?)
Transition: Not loafing it.

Contestant #2 (Female) is a former field sport (lacrosse) and squash player. She's biked a century and has experience running races 5Ks to 10 milers. So, she's familiar with two of the three tri sports. Thankfully, for her husband's sake, she's relatively new to competitive swimming. Unlike her husband, she likes going to the gym and participating in everything from the treadmill to crazy fitness classes.

Contestant #2 Improvement Areas:
Right now Contestant #2 is waiting to be a mommy and will be begin training after a due date April for September races...so until she can train and compete, we won't make an assessment :)