second tri next weekend

I'm new to this great sport, but I'm hooked. I did a Sprint Tri a few months ago to prepare for the NJ State triathlon Olympic Distance event on 7/23. I've been running half and full marathons for the last 5 years. Last summer, a stress fracture required me to give up running for 3 months. However, I was allowed to bike and swim. Perfect ingredients for a tri! I attended a local seminar given by a tri coach who I subsequently hired. He did a great job preparing me for the Olympic.

In my mind I did very well in both events. I'm now getting ready for the Northeast MD Olympic distance event. I'm hoping for a little better luck in T1. Let me explain. Event #1: I was the 6th man out of the water and feeling good. Couldn't get the wetsuit off my feet! I think I was passed by 8 people before heading out of transition. It was probably only a minute or so, but felt like and eternity. Event #2: Grabbed my bike off the rack and started running for the exit only to see a flat front tire! Luckily I've had experience changing them, so I was able to get a new tube in in 5 minutes. Still, it dropped me at least 50 places. Oh well. I finished both events strong and look forward to next weekend. I'll be hanging out on this site a good bit to pick others brains about triathloning.