At the end of the year it is important to make goals both in Sports like triathlon, and family, work, etc.  For triathlon I like set up my schedule for the year.  This year I want to do some other items then just train for a standard triathlon.  So hear is my hopeful schedule for next barring injuries, job change, or ayso soccer. 
March 31, 2011 http://www.renegaderaceseries.com/index.php?view=details&id=33%3AXTERRA-renegade-off-road-tri-off-road-duathlon-a-renegade-3-mile-trail-run-challenge&option=com_eventlist&Itemid=146 I have really started to enjoy riding a mountain bike I bought for 100 dollars 6 years ago.  I want to try my luck at this format. 

June 10- 2012 http://rbtriathlon.com/ Hometown race.  Can ride my bike to the start line.

Late June http://www.ocw.org/bear/bearinfo.asp or LA gran fondo I grew up going to Lake Arrowhead and after I saw the tour of California climb this hill I thought this would be a fun challenge.  Also for some reason climbing hills on a bike is surprisingly fun. 
My birthday present http://orangemantriathlon.com/ or http://xterrasnowvalley.com

depending if I feel like riding my budget road bike or my budget mountain bike. 
Maybe hits havasu http://www.hitstriathlonseries.com/lake-havasu-city-az/ for half iron man or Olympic
but mostly as an excuse to go to a friends house there (friends vacation houses are the most budget vacations).

These will be my goal.  I try to sign up for races early so I can get the best price then I ask for and search the internet for additional discounts.  Look for new races or ones that don't sell out they are willing to neigoiate.  If it has an iron man name you are lucky to get in to the race never the less get anything special.   There are so many races and different options these days that paying 500 bucks for a race just seems like highway robbery.
All of these races minus the Lake Havasu race cost less than 100 to enter.  They are also close enough that I do not have to pay to travel overnight.  they are also places that if my family wants to comes they can enjoy the beach, or play at a park. 

Choosing the Race

I have a problem, where I need to have a monetary motivation to get my but in gear. The motivation is the race and the fiscal, and time cost to complete the race.
Last year as a reaction to having a third kid on the way I signed up for two races. Before I knew it I had spent 280 dollars on races. For a guy who hates spending money, this was huge. I was now committed. There is no way I was going to miss these dates. It also gave me a goal to shoot toward, I knew that I wanted to kick but on race day vs getting my but kicked.
However, I messed up and spent way to much money on to little. Most local races which would be sprint or Olympic cost between 100-150 dollars, Major player (rev3tri.com,www.latriathlon.com,www.tricalifornia.com) 150-250 for Olympic or half ironman and 250-500+ per a race for any iron man, 5150 event (www.ironman.com).

So you could end up spending 500-700 on just races your first year if you don't watch yourself.

In order to figure out what race you want to do you have to ask yourself alot of questions
1. What is your goal? finish a race, have a reason to get in shape. Show your friend who is better
The next post will help you decide which race for you to choose.

How do I get started in triathlon?

Welcome
The easy answer: is sign up for a race, and show up and race. Once you complete that race you can call yourself a triathlete.
The problem is between the sign up and race you can spends thousands of dollars on equipment. I have three kids, one whom was adopted internationally, a wife who stays at home to take care of them, mortgage etc. and I wanted to start competing in this expensive sport. I have dedicated a lot of time doing research, testing theories, and negotiating with my family on how to get the most for your money and time in triathlon. This sport is going to cost you money on lots of things you expect(bike, shoes, speedos) and things you don't expect (crotch creams). I am going to share what I have learned and what I am learning about how to do this affordable and fun. Hopefully you will follow along.