Jim Allen prepares for his first triathlon

This is the fifth in a six-part series entitled “Tri, tri again,” in which a 57-year-old sportswriter attempts to complete his first triathlon. The end is near…

Triathlon training has been so much fun, I don’t know where to start.

No, I literally don’t know where to start.

Four days ago, in a get-acquainted session led by the Team Blaze triathlon club, two dozen of us donned our wetsuits and dipped our toes in the 58-degree waters of Medical Lake.

The idea was to swim to a buoy located barely less than 200 yards away, avoid getting kicked in the head by my new acquaintances, and return to shore. In nine days I’ll be doing this for real at the Troika Triathlon, so I put down my Words with Friends game and actually paid attention.

Off I went. Months of lap-swimming were paying off with every stroke, and my adrenaline surged.

Thirty seconds later, I looked up – at the same beach I’d just left behind.

That’s right: I was swimming in circles. A helpful volunteer told me that I have a dominant right arm – or a weanie left arm. She looked me in the eyes and said, “You need to keep your eyes on the buoy.”

Are you kidding me? For months I’ve been told to keep my head down and keep my eyes on the helpful blue guideline at the bottom of every respectable lap pool.

However, someone forgot to paint a line on the bottom of Medical Lake. It’s not too late: Just lay some yellow neon stripes to get me on my way – please!

Maybe next year.

Until then, I’m working harder than ever. Brick training, they call it. You bike for 10 miles, then change into running shoes for a quick 3-miler. Or swim for half an hour and then jump on the bike.

I’m building bricks, all right, but the mortar is cracking in my 57-year-old body. After Sunday’s swimming misadventure, I jumped on my bike and pushed it for 10 miles. Then I changed into my running gear, took a few steps – and felt my calves turn to mush. After less than a mile, I gave up and returned to the car, where my wife Dannette was reading a book in the sun.

“Done already?” she asked.

“Sure, I didn’t want to keep you waiting, honey,” I lied.

At that moment, I had some serious doubts about this triathlon thing.

I needed some inspiration, and found it in Chuck Hormel, who in barely a month will be competing in his first full Ironman.

At the age of 70.

On June 28 in Coeur d’Alene, Hormel will swim 2.4 miles, bike for 112 miles and cap it all with a 26.2-mile marathon. In other words, about 10 times as far as I’m going at the Troika sprint.

Hormel was active in triathlons in the 1980s until his passion yielded to family and work. Almost two decades passed before his daughter Caitlin, fresh out of college, pulled him back into the sport in 2010. At that time, he still owned Country Homes Realty. He retired only last year.

Hormel joined Team Blaze in 2011. Now he’s their volunteer coordinator. It’s a tireless job, rounding up folks to help with club events. But then, Hormel is a tireless guy. After the swim lesson, he joined three youngsters for a 56-mile bike ride.

Since rejoining the sport, Hormel said, “I feel better than I have in 20 years.”

So why a full Ironman? Because it’s there.

Last year, Hormel was volunteering at the big event in Coeur d’Alene.

“I asked myself why I’d never done a full Ironman before,” he said, and filled out his application.

Hormel makes a few concessions to age even as he competes at all distances. He alternates running and walking, and he’s hired a coach who understands the needs of older triathletes.

His advice to them: “Set your own pace and don’t try to stay with the young ones.”

That’s good advice for race day, but Hormel sets a fast pace in the rest of life. He devotes 12 to 13 hours a week to training, plus all the support work for Team Blaze. Perhaps that’s because he has a support network at home. His wife Jenifer, who also volunteers for Team Blaze but doesn’t compete, “gives up an awful lot for me to do these things,” Hormel said.

In turn, Hormel does a lot to help hundreds of others. See you at the finish line, Chuck.

Coming up on June 5: The final chapter