DogBoy

I've decided to put away the potato chips and turn off the TV. I signed up for an olympic distance Tri in Aug. I figured if I sign up, I have to train for it, right? Anyway, I'm hoping to get some advice from some of you more experienced folks. I have a bike, but it is a hybrid. I live up north, and haven't been able to ride outdoors, but on my fluid-trianer, @ my long-ride heartrate (1 hr), I average 14 mph. I am comfortable on my bike, and wasn't really thinking about buying a tri or road-bike, but one of the competitive tri-people at work told me I would lose a LOT of speed by riding my hybrid. Is there any truth to that? If it's just 1-2 mph, no big deal, but if it is closer to 4, I would think about upgrading.

I was a high-school swimmer, so that part has been going fine, I run like a turtle, but I'm at the point where I can run for an hour (from 5 min at first of year). The bike is the part I'm most concerned about.

Oh, since you always ask for goals/use: My goal is to comfortably finish the triathlon in about 3 hrs. My swim pace is about 1:30 per 100 yds, I'm hoping for a bike pace of 16-17 mph and a run pace of about 9:30. Right now, my run pace is about 10:00-10:30. So...my questions:

1. Are my goals for bike & run reasonable given my current pace/endurance?
2. What would be the advantages of upgrading to a road/tri bike?
3. I can't wear contacts and I have crappy vision. In HS, I didn't have a problem swimming, since you can always see the wall for the turns. I'm worried about finding my bike after the swim. Any blind people out there that don't wear contacts? How do you get your glasses after the swim?

Thanks for the help and advice in advance.
-John in Madison, WI.

I forgot to add...I am currently at about 225 lbs, so I'm not sure the lighter road/tri bike would actually help as much as the weight-loss associated with the training will. Thoughts?