Let me play the devil's advocate here and give you another, and refreshing, suggestion . . .
GET A .22 AUTOMATIC! Both Ruger and Browning make excellent ones for very reasonable prices. Best yet, you can buy 550 rounds of .22LR ammo at Wall-Mart and such for well less than $15 bucks. Here are the advantages . . .
1. Cheap and plentiful practice - If you want to compete, and have a chance of really being good, you are going to need to do a LOT of consistent practice AND develop really good shooting technique. A .22 will let you afford to do this.
2. Very, very low recoil and noise - This will GREATLY help you learn not to flinch when you shoot . . . and developing this essential trait is a must. Starting with a full-power centerfire automatic will hinder you in shooting without flinch.
3. A .22LR pistol (mine is a Ruger MkII Target Model) WILL protect you from attack, AND while you are perfecting your technique you'll be able to meet lots of shooters at the range and get to shoot lots of various handguns in both 9mm and 40S&W. Thus, when you are ready for a self-defense auto you'll discover that you'll know which one works best for YOU, your hand size/grip and trigger finger reach.
4. Even the Sig 226 is super cheap in the long run . . . it is the AMMO that costs so danged much. By starting with a .22 auto, if you shoot a lot in order to get good you'll save enough money on ammo that in a few months of active shootings you'll save enough to BUY a centerfire automatic!
5. IF YOU MUST start with a 9mm or a 40S&W, ALSO immediately start saving your spent brass AND get an economical reloading kit such as a Lee Turret. You'll be able to shoot economically rather than launch bullets downrange that are costing you 50cents or more per trigger pull!
Logically though, start with a .22 . . . and spend some money on really fine instruction by a qualified and accomplished handgun shooter.
Hope this helps.