shelly,

These tris are sprint events, which there should be in your greater area.

sprint = roughly 1/4 miles swim, 13ish mile bike, and 5k run (3.1 miles)

The distances go up from there. Sprints are often very beginner friendly, but they also are a, well, sprint, so the pace for the winners is quite fast.

You can see all the available sprints on the USA Triathlon site.

http://www.usatmembership.com/EventCalendar/

Around these parts, the events are basically over by end of Sept. But, you might still be able to make one this year!