Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon Report
1.5 mile swim/18 mile bike/8 mile run
San Francisco, CA
June 3, 2007
WOW. That’s the gist of it. An amazing experience, made all the better by not drowning, or falling off my bike.
Short version:
I just can’t say that I’ve ever had a better time at a race. Not just the fun part, but the “work” part of it, too…I wasn’t out there sandbagging, I was putting forth a solid effort, but I stayed in this “ZONE” all day…calm, excited, strong, focused, accomplished. I’m not sure that’s ever happened that way before and it’s really hard to describe. For me, that was the biggest victory of all. I got out of my comfort zone and surpassed all my expectations. Not to mention, on one of the coolest race courses ever.
race pics on brightroom: inmate #1149
LONG version:
Background: This is one of the premier “destination” triathlons in the country, if not in the world. “Escaping” from Alcatraz, an island penitentiary built to prevent escaping convicts, what with being surrounded by frigid waters of the San Francisco Bay. It’s on most triathlete’s to-do lists, but I have an aversion to swimming in cold water (ok…an aversion to swimming period. But especially in cold water.), so had not been that eager to do this race. However, I was in an end-of season funk after the 2006 season, and saw a post on the internet about signing up for the lottery to enter the race (it’s that popular). What the heck? I don’t usually win random drawings. I signed up. December 15 was the day of the first round of drawings. I was working in Fairbanks, Alaska that day. I checked my email that afternoon. I got in! My first reaction was, “Cool!” My immediate second reaction was, “Oh, $hiT.” I then proceeded to plan the rest of my race calendar, focusing on some short early season races, the Florida 70.3, and IM Austria and completely blocked all thoughts of Alcatraz out of my mind.
Prelude to the race: Once in a while, I did allow myself to think about it. At least that way I had a flight and hotel room. After the Florida 70.3 (2 weeks before A-Day), I began thinking about the race. eek! I tried to come up with valid arguments to not go: no one to travel with; shouldn’t I be focusing on Ironman; stray whales in the Bay (they left just in time). So…really…no good reason to cancel. Besides, I was already in for all the travel and race fees to a tune of about ONE BILLION DOLLARS. OK, more like $1000. Cannot really throw that out the window. Plus I would be a wuss. I read everything I could get my computer to pull up about the race, including a few race reports. Fought the nausea. Disregarded my friends who almost in unison said, “Ooh, I would never do that race. It’s hard!” when I told them about it at the last workout before I left for SF. On the plus side, I drew great inspiration from the novice triathletes I met who were training for their first tri, the Danskin…I could totally relate to their fears and nervousness about trying something new. I know…the distances themselves don’t sound that daunting, especially since I have completed 4 Ironman races. But this race just has that reputation.
Friday, June 1 (T minus 2 days):
Off to the airport in plenty of time since I had to check the bike and I hate to leave that to chance. Boarded the plane…ready to go!!! and…not. Some mechanical issue with the plane. We sat on the plane, at the gate for about 2.5 hours when they finally let us off to go get some lunch. And boy, did I need a Diet Coke! At least Frontier Airlines had started early in the delay making sure that passengers who were missing their connections were put on later flights from Denver to their destination. During the delay, I met Michelle, who was also doing the race, and we had exchanged emails prior to the race. We planned to share a cab in SF to get to our hotels that were near each other, and meet up for a swim and checking out the bike course the following day. So I had someone to hang with at least for a while.
Arrived in San Francisco about 4 hours behind schedule…but at least we were there! And the bikes made it (so all those excuses to bail went out the window, too–see? I told you there was no good reason NOT to race). Once at the hotel (Sheraton at Fisherman’s Wharf–reasonably convenient for the race and activities and a little bit of tourism), I ordered room service and put my bike together and went to bed…all that sitting around on the plane must have worn me out!
Saturday, June 2 (T minus 1 day):
I woke up around 6 a.m., I think because of the time difference. Walked down towards Fisherman’s Wharf to see if there was a bagel place handy. Found a great-smelling bakery, but it didn’t open until 8 am, so I got a bagel at some hole-in-the-wall place. (yes, and a Diet Coke. Breakfast of Champions.) Gathered my swim gear and bike gear and rode down to meet Michelle at her hotel 2 blocks away at 8:30. We rode to Aquatic Park, where I told her some of my “imaginary internet friends” would be…some people from the Slowtwitch Forum were meeting there to swim (thanks, Cathy!)…I figured that was my plan to have some friends around (even if they are new friends)…and was hoping that one of them wouldn’t mind driving us around the bike course. That plan worked wonderfully, on both counts! New friends: Cathy, Leisha, Robert, Cristiano. We took a few pictures of getting into our wetsuits and looking over to Alcatraz, then hopped in for a short swim. The water is definitely cold! But no worse than when I swam in Alaska last summer. Having a neoprene cap on helped a lot (thanks, cray!), as did a coating of Vaseline on my face and hands. After exiting the water, Cathy warned us of the “Bay Beard”…a coating of silt and oil that gets on one’s face when swimming in the Bay. She said to be sure and have a towel in transition to wipe it off, so as to not go through the day with scum on your face. That could make for some bad race photos! We changed into dry clothes and went to breakfast nearby.
Then, 5 of us piled in a car to drive the bike course (thanks, Robert!). It was valuable information to know where the hills were (everywhere) and to be aware of some tricky turns and bad pavement. The hills scared me, and biking is usually my strength! Some were just long, but not that steep…then there is a block or two that is really steep. You go into it after climbing a longer hill, then turn left and a quick right, and there it is. In. Your. Face. I could just picture people hitting that hill and falling right over.
We got done with the bike course in time to hop out of the car and go to the 1 p.m. athlete meeting. They gave us the scoop on where to sight for the swim, and reviewed the schedule for the next day. There were lots of first-timers for this event. Sitting outside at the meeting wasn’t comfortable…it was about 60 degrees out, and windy. I brought some warmer clothes, but would recommend hat and gloves. (as if I even know where these items are even located in my house in June in Texas). We breezed through athlete registration, looked at our bike racks, bought some lovely race merchandise (of course), and went back to our respective hotels. I was tired, and the morning activities had taken a little longer than I had hoped (sorry, Michelle!), and we hadn’t even really ridden or ran that day. (we left our bikes at the hotel when we drove the course.) I went out on the bike a little later on my own, and rode to the swim exit and back, just to check that out. The wind was making me nervous, but I could tell the swim was going to be ok. I rode back to the hotel, and got cleaned up to meet Michelle and Colleen for dinner at 6 p.m. A simple dinner, just spaghetti with meat sauce and a small salad, and a glass of red wine. We ate at Cesar’s, near our hotels.
I checked and re-checked my race bags. This race is unique in that there is a transition area at the swim exit, where you may opt to take off your wetsuit and/or put on some running shoes, as the swim exit is about 1/2 mile from the bike racks and standard transition area. Due to the issues I have had with my heel, I opted to have shoes waiting for me. And a towel, to wipe off the Vaseline/Bay Beard! and arm warmers to protect me from getting too cold. My general transition gear (helmet, bike shoes, other running shoes, sunglasses, visor, race belt) was in my main backpack. And then my swim gear was in another provided bag. We would drop this bag off at the boat before the swim start with our morning dry clothes. I was as ready as I was going to be!
Somehow…over the day’s activities and as I gathered my thoughts…it all became just fine in my head. I was nervous (who isn’t before any event?), but not terrified anymore. I was calm, but excited. It was a great feeling, one I will store in the memory bank to recall for future events. I kept thinking of specific training days or prior events that I could relate to the Alcatraz course. The cold open water swim in Alaska. The hills of the Easter Hill Country Ride and the AIDS ride (especially the long climb with a steep part at the end). The hill repeats on Wilke. Running stairs in my last long run at Town Lake (thanks, Glenn!). And again, I thought of the Danskin ladies. I knew I was getting out of my comfort zone, heading to the unknown, just like they were. A grand adventure.
Sunday, June 3 (RACE DAY!)
We had been told to be in transition by 4:00 a.m. when it opened, as they wanted the first timers on the first busses to the pier for the boat. That is darned early! But the last bus would leave the transition area at 5:45, and the boat would pull away from the pier at 6:15 for a 7:00 a.m. race start. The rule is: no boat, no swim, no race. So Michelle and I agreed to meet at 4 a.m. at her hotel and ride over. That meant a 3:30 a.m. wakeup time. So naturally I woke up at 2:30! I like to lay in bed and visualize the race before I get moving…so I started that and then I dozed off. ~~~~~ dream sequence visualizing race~~~~ The alarm woke me up at 3:30, and I felt very calm and pulled together. I dressed in my race outfit, sweat pants, a tech long-sleeved top, 2 sweatshirts and a jacket and rode to pick up Michelle. We rode over to the transition area quietly in the dark. At the entrance, we dropped off our swim to bike transition bags at a truck, which would bring them to the swim exit. We racked our bikes and set up our biking and running gear. The racks are tall! My poor baby bike was danging in the wind, so I put my helmet on the ground so it wouldn’t fall off the aerobars in some random direction. I looked around for landmarks…they had state and world nation flags all around. I remembered how Susan F. had been between Kentucky and Denmark, per her race report. I was by a dragon flag. Could that be Denmark? I don’t know. Dragon Flag will have to do. We reviewed the bike and run ins and outs, and went to the bus. Lots of nervous energy on that bus! But I still wasn’t freaked out by anything. That calm sensation was staying with me! We ate our pre-race breakfast on the bus, as it took us to Pier 3. Upon our arrival there, we got bodymarked, and hit the portapotty lines a few times. We tried to stay out of the cold, huddled on the ground, reviewing our thoughts. I pulled out my ipod to listen to a few tunes, including mine and Tim’s hill climbing song by Rage against the Machine.
Time to board the boat! The San Francisco Belle (shout out to my dearly departed kitty!). Pros and athletes up to age 39 were to be on the bottom level, with the older age groups on the second level. I just pretended I look like I’m under 40 and stayed downstairs. Prior to boarding, I had put on the bottom part of my wetsuit. As the boat filled with athletes, we warmed up a little. I eventually took off my jacket and sweatshirts. Little by little, I got ready to start the race. I spoke a bit with a guy from Phoenix (his first Alcatraz, and 2nd tri ever). I watched a woman who was totally in her zone, jamming to her music and warming up for the swim. She made me smile because she was in her groove, just like I was in mine. Somehow I managed to stay in that zone of calm positive excitement, just like they talk about in the sports psychology books! I knew that I would have a good day! While I was talking to the guy from Phoenix, I used my sharpie to write “TOUGH” on my forearm before I pulled on the top part of my wetsuit. I often write some little key word on myself for a race. I kept hydrating on the boat ride, planning on using my full bladder to warm up my wetsuit before we jumped in. There were announcements being made about what to sight on, etc…I couldn’t hear much over the crowd, and really didn’t take time to look out the windows much. I just hoped the instructions weren’t radically different from what they told us the day before. I saw Michelle one last time and we wished each other luck. I put on my earplugs, my neoprene cap, my goggles, and my race swim cap. I applied a layer of Vaseline to my face, back of hands, and tops of feet. I dropped off the bag that now had all my warm dry clothes in the center of the room and went to the outside back deck of the boat and took in the view of the Bay Bridge. Most athletes were crowding to the swim exit side, so I enjoyed a moment of calm. I walked back through the boat, got a hug from some dude in another wave, and started watching the swimmers as they took off. It was quite a sight…people yelling for swimmers to jump, athletes jumping, and a stream of multi-colored swim caps drifting and swimming away from the boat. It looked as if someone had thrown colorful confetti in a stream. Then it was my turn! eek! yay!
Plunge!!..this was for the Danskin ladies, about to also take a big plunge in their triathlon life. I did a split leg jump, but still completely submerged in the 57 degree water for a moment. I surfaced, and…this was IT! I took a few strokes to get away from the boat, and remembered to start my watch. Let’s go! Swim, swim, swim… The water was fairly choppy in places…I got several mouthfuls of the Bay as I either sighted or turned my head to breathe. I did my best to keep my exertion level down so as to not hyperventilate. I don’t remember feeling cold, until close to the end…you are just so focused on “I need to get THERE,” to worry about anything else. I knew I needed to stay more to the left than to the right, as the current pulls left to right. I kept aiming to the left of Fort Mason, as instructed, and was thankful there was not much fog to obscure the landmarks. At one point I turned around to look back at the island of Alcatraz and the boat. I looked to my right and could see the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. And then I just kept swimming. The choppiness of the water got to me a few times, so I would pull up, do a few breaststrokes, cough and gag on the salt water, get my bearings, and then swim some more. I probably did that 3 times. I kept checking to make sure I was on course, and eventually started sighting on the dome over the swim exit. I was so happy to see that the landmarks were getting closer and closer! I shouted a “thank you” to one of the kayak support crew with about 200m to go. The cheers from the spectators could be heard over the water. I did it! I swam a good line to the shore, without having to fight the current; I didn’t freeze; and I wasn’t scared! I hit the beach by my watch in just a little less than 41 minutes, though the timing mat was a bit further away, so my official swim time is 42 min. That was a faster time to swim 1.5 miles than I had swum 1.2 miles two weeks prior! Good job, me!
The swim exit takes you over a very narrow beach. There are rocks on either side, which is why coming in at the right angle is so crucial. You then climb up a few stairs to a sidewalk and parking lot. I made a little rookie mistake here and took off my swim caps and goggles before getting my hands out of my wetsuit sleeves, so I fumbled with the wetsuit more than normal. I found my transition bag easily (thanks, Katy! yay for you!) and took out a towel to wipe the vaseline and Bay Beard off, then got out of the wetsuit, put on my running shoes, stuffed the wetsuit in the bag, and took off for the real transition area. The crowd support on this 1/2 mile run was great…they were cheering for athletes running to transition, and for the hordes of athletes literally pouring out of the transition area onto the bike course. I looked for the Dragon flag, which the spectators had kindly wrapped around the flagpole so it wouldn’t blow in their face. nice. 
At least part of the dragon was still showing. Found my bike…sunglasses and helmet on, and away we go! wait. Take off those running shoes, doofus. I put socks on, so my toes would hopefully thaw out during the ride. Now…away we go, for real! Mounted easily, and time for the hills.
The first mile or so of the bike is flat, so it gives you a chance to warm up. The course is fairly crowded, but I was happy to see that most folks around me had good enough bike handling skills to stay out of each others’ way. There is a long curvy climb, then you turn right, and more climbing. During this climb, a guy rode by and asked, “Are you TOUGH?” heehee…it was the guy from the boat! I shouted back, “Yes, I am!!” Felt like quite a while before we got a little downhill break. Then, what’s this? more climbing? Oh, OK. Uphill through a swanky neighborhood where Robin Williams lives. By this time, the race leaders were heading back, flying down the hills I was climbing. Through a pretty area at the Palace of the Legion of Honor, then a fast downhill–yay! Oh, but don’t get too frisky, there is a sharp (greater than 90 degrees) right turn at the bottom and you get to go uphill again. Up, steep down, left, right, then a nice LLLOOONNNNGGG downhill onto the Great Highway. That was fun, but a little scary, as the downhill side was coned into one lane of traffic, so if you were riding across the apex of the curves, you could cut people off. Most folks were pretty patient with the slower descenders here (I was middle to fast, compared to the riders around me, but made sure to let a few fast guys through). The course then turns into Golden Gate Park. The pavement is rough here, though I found a fairly smooth strip on the right hand side of the road and stuck to that as best as I could. Interesting little section: passed one guy with a flat tire, still riding, with no intention to change his tire (I asked, and offered CO2); passed the youngest competitor, an 11 year old girl (she passed me back on the run); and I looked forward to the buffalo paddock, however, buffalo do not respond to moo-ing, apparently. Slackers. Out of the park, and then…remember that long fun downhill? time to go back up! Actually, I was sort of looking forward to it, as the 2nd part of the park course was downhill and I was starting to get a little cold, so climbing the hill was sure to warm me up! It’s a long climb, and then you get back to Seal Rock. I met a friend of my friend Marty’s as we approached it, and he verified the steepest hill was coming up. This is the hill that scared me when we drove the course. Well, we made the right turn, and I said to myself, “get going!” and so I did! I stood up, pulled a little Lance Armstrong move, and scampered up that hill like a monkey! ha! Sure, it took a little effort, but I kicked that hill’s ass! And the next one, and the next one, and the last one just for fun. So there. I just laughed and smiled through the rest of the course. With one exception…on the descent through the neighborhood after the Palace, we were warned of a wreck and told to slow down. Emergency vehicles were still there, though I didn’t see bikers down at that time. Word was that the wreck was pretty bad, so I said a prayer for everyone’s safety. The last mile of the bike course is flat, and time to spin out the legs from all the hills and get ready to run. Bike time about 1:16, at the faster end of my targeted time!
T2: Fast, no problem finding my bike rack, as the Dragon Flag was unfurled!
Run: By this point, I knew I was pretty safe. No drowning, and the chances of falling down had decreased significantly. The first 2 miles are flat, and leaving the transition area, the crowds are cheering loudly for the runners, both heading out to start their 8 miles, as well as the leaders coming back. The top women went by the other way, so I cheered for them (and secretly hoped I’d be on TV, running). At the first aid station, I inquired about portapotties and a volunteer told me that about a hundred people used that bush over there (off the course about 25m). Good enough for me! Good thing it was foggy, because I think mooning a national landmark like the Golden Gate Bridge is a little awkward. I got back out on the run and stayed steady, with just the occasional walk break about every 7 or 8 minutes for the first section. After mile 2, the run gets interesting. You go up a set of wood and dirt steps. Somewhere along there is also a little tunnel, about 7 feet tall on one end, and 4 feet tall on the other end, so you have to duck when you run through it. Just like a real jailbreak, I thought! Then uphill on a dirt single-track path. Meanwhile, runners are coming back down the same way, on this mostly out-and-back course. So you have to be sure and stay to one side (left, in this case) and stay out of their way. I was really glad that Texas Iron did Wilke hill repeats last week to prepare my legs for the uphills! (Thanks, Jamie and Fish!) Finally, at mile 3 (shout-out to Cathy, volunteering at the aid station–thanks!), you catch a little break, and start into a long sweeping downhill, part on pavement, and part on dirt path. Glad that we work on running downhill as well as up, as I picked up a few seconds on the people running near me here. Ahh…time for Baker’s Beach. I jogged over the loose sand, making a beeline for the harder packed sand near the water’s edge. I found it best to run easily, trying to step in the previous runners’ footprints where they had compressed the sand a bit. Then the run takes you down the shoreline to the turnaround at mile 4–halfway! it went by so quickly! (at least mentally, it did) Then, we ran back up the beach to…dun dun dun! the SAND STAIRS! The whole reason I wanted to do this race. Seriously. Not like I could have just gone to SF on vacation and gone for a run over there. The sand stairs are a series of railroad ties connected by two cables and placed on a sand dune. There are cable rails on the sides. For most of the 400 step ascent, the wooden ties are exposed, so you have reasonable footing. I used the railing to help pull myself up part of the way and save a few muscle fibers in my legs. About the last 10% of the steps are buried in the sand, so the footing is less sure. But it’s not crazy hard. Just mental. I had a blast!! Besides, there is only about 1/2 more mile of uphill on a dirt trail to go. At mile 5, the next mile is all about fun…downhill on the single-track, through the tunnel (there was a sign that said “DUCK” but I didn’t see any ducks) 
and down the steps. Yay, 2 flat miles to go! At this point, I didn’t know I had messed up the time on my watch (apparently I had stopped it for all of the first transition). So when I looked at it, it was a stretch, but almost conceivable to go 3:30 for the course. That was crazy awesome, since my best projection was about 3:45, but I had initally thought it would be closer to 4 hours. I decided to run strong the rest of the way and see what I had left. I did take 2 very short walk breaks because I didn’t want to completely blow up before the finish and my legs were starting to tighten up. But I ran the last 2 miles in 10:40 and 10:14, which for me, at the end of a hilly race, is pretty good. And I was still having fun! I gave it what I had left for the last mile and next thing you know, I was crossing the finish line! Final time 3:45:xx (turns out I had stopped my watch for the whole first transition).
I got my finisher’s medal, dropped off the timing chip, and was led to where our swim transition bags were neatly out and easy to find. (Thanks, Katy! Someone should bake you a cake!) After getting some warm clothes on, I got a little food, and then my gear. I found Michelle during this time and she had a great race! Met up with the ST gang later that day and had a blast! Thanks QR and Litespeed.
I just can’t say that I’ve ever had a better time at a race. Not just the fun part, but the “work” part of it, too…I wasn’t out there sandbagging, I was putting forth a solid effort, but I stayed in this “ZONE” all day…calm, excited, strong, focused, accomplished. I’m not sure that’s ever happened that way before and it’s really hard to describe. For me, that was the biggest victory of all. I got out of my comfort zone and surpassed all my expectations. Not to mention, on one of the coolest race courses ever.
The race was so well organized. And just a great challenge. I recommend it to EVERYONE. Not sure I’ll do it again in the near future…I think going for a repeat of that experience would leave me disappointed. It’s taken me 3 days to come down off the high.
Thanks to my coach, Andrea Fisher…trusting my training had a lot to do with the success. Too many others to thank personally, but nice to know my friends and teammates had faith in me.
P.S. as best as I can find out, the Dragon Flag is from Wales.
