Escape from Alcatraz

Escape from Alcatraz is probably my favorite triathlon.  The entire race is so unique that you either love it or hate and I love it.  This year the weather was perfect.  It was clear, sunny and for San Fran warm.  I stayed at a friend’s house in Mountain View the night before and drove up to the race on Sun morning.  Everything was great until I tried to find parking on race day.  I took a wrong turn and got really lost.  Fortunately. I managed to find my way back to the starting area and found parking at the Exploratorium.  However, I was freaking out as I was driving away from San Fran on a highway with no exit in site on race day morning.

            I dropped my bike off in transition and managed to find a good friend Charisa.  We talked and relaxed together on the bus and fairy trip out to the start.  The start is insane and great.  They line the pro and challenged athletes up on the outside of the boat and send them off.  Next, they open a 4 foot opening on the front and back of the boat and everyone files out as fast as they can.  I was off the boat early and began swimming as fast as possible.  It’s swim or get landed on.  It reminds me of the old Disney films were they show the Lemings jumping off the cliff.  FYI, the boat ride kills your warm-up so I tried put Flex-Power on under my wetsuit and it was a great idea.  It kicked in and started warming me up just before I jumped into the bay.  My gamble paid off. 

            The swim is the best part of the day.  You start in the shadow of Alcatraz island, jump into fridged waters (mid 50’s F)  and aim no where near the finish.  It’s the creepiest feeling to know you are swimming at the wrong landmark but knowing the current will pull you to the right place.  I managed to stay clear of everyone and got out of the water feeling OK in 31min and 05 seconds.

            Once you are out, you run around 1 km a lot the shore to your bike.  I swam in booties so I decided to forgo the chaos of finding and putting on shoes and run in them to the transition area.  The booties kept my feet safe, no cuts, and off with my wetsuit and time for the bike.

            The started out smoothly.  I was getting into a great rhythm up the first hill and as I crested,  I shifted to my biggest gear for the downhill.  Suddenly, my chain was stuck and I had to stop.  A volunteer helped free my chain from my bike and I was off.  About 30 sec later, I shifted to me biggest gear again and my chain overshifted and was jammed between my cassette and frame.  I hadn’t adjusted my gears properly when I changed over to my race wheels.  Rookie mistake.  Oh well, now I new.  The rest of the ride I made sure to avoid my biggest gear and everything went well.  I road 54 min 6 sec and counting a couple stops that’s not too bad.

            I was off onto the run.  I latched onto a fellow competitor coming out of transition and got a great pus for the first mile.  The first few miles are flat so I got into a great pace and saw a couple friends on the side of the course cheering me one.  Thanks John and Steven.  After a few flat miles, you go up some stairs and onto the trails.  As I exited the trails, I caught one of the elites and ran with him down to the bay and along the sand.  We stayed together until the famous sand ladder.  I ran smoothly up the wooden planks that form the ladder with only a couple missed steps to slow me down (2 min 14 sec time).  I gapped the guy I was running with and came back on the trail for the run back.  I was moving through the runners on their way out well and bringing runners back until the stairs.  I go down stairs really badly.  I was passed by the guy I dropped on the sand ladder and forced to chase the entire way back.  I pushed as hard as I could but couldn’t catch him.  I was able to reach out and touch him at the finish line but couldn’t over take him.  I ran 48 min 3 sec and ended up finishing in 2hr 19 min and 40 sec.  That put my as the 7^th amateur, 2^nd in my age group and I had the fastest amateur run of the day.  I was pretty happy.

            To make the day even better, Charisa matched my age-group finish with a 2^nd of her own.  We topped off the day with an amazing breakfast at one of the local shops before a long car trip.  I had a great day and still love this race.  I can’t wait until next year.

 

Brian