Escape From Alcatraz Race Report (Long)

Triathlon Forum
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Escape From Alcatraz Race Report 6-13-05

Wednesday June 8

Slept in, no AM workout. Finished weekly 35-mile road race at Grattan Speedway that evening without a crash or breakdown (wheew!). Very well organized race, nice group of people: http://www.mwsport.com/index.cfm and http://www.grattanraceway.com/. Brought the bike inside afterward & went to bed. Stress level: low.

Thursday June 9

Fairly easy AM swim workout, only 2600 SCY. Included 300, 200, & 100 yd best effort swims. Skipped weights. After work, stopped at Home Depot to get casters (so my cheap-ass cardboard box wouldn’t drag on the pavement as I was towing it to/from the airport) & spot ties. Stress level: moderate.

4:30 PM: Grilled steaks & chicken breasts for GF and myself for dinner. Huge mess, tasted great. Stress level: low.

6:30 PM: Decided to start packing. Have never taken the bike apart before; can’t be that hard. I’ll start with the pedals. Stress level, low. 7:30 PM: Pedals finally off. No, they’re not both right-hand threaded. No, my Craftsman 15mm open-wrench isn’t long enough to produce sufficient torque to undo the bastard pedals. No, even hooking a 1.25 inch open-end wrench to the end of it isn’t enough torque. How to push on the wrench without moving the entire bike, the rear wheel, or the crank arm?? Screw it. Beat the end of the wrench with a hammer, maybe that’ll work. HA!! Both off. Stress level: over the top. Bike damage: none. 300+ in-lb of torque reduced to zero.

10:00 PM: The bike’s finally in the box. Two dozen wasted spot ties on the floor. GF’s sleeping. Stress level: high. 11:45 PM: finished- bike box, Army-surplus backpack, and carryon ready. Stress level: high. 12:15 AM: turn on TV to relax. F^&* you, Conan. Not in the mood.

Friday June 10

6:30 AM: Attempted to weasel out of paying $80 for large cardboard box as checked luggage. Failed. Made it to SF without incident. Made it to Aquatic Park for the 6:00 swim. Met up with Rich, Cathy, Kerri, MtTamRnr (and someone else??) afterward. Very friendly group of people.

http://images.snapfish.com/343%3B9%3A%3B523232fp64%3Dot>234%3A%3D433%3D833%3DXROQDF>23238%3A%3A<38475ot1lsi http://images.snapfish.com/343%3B9%3A%3B523232fp63%3Dot>234%3A%3D433%3D833%3DXROQDF>23238%3A%3A<37779ot1lsi

Saturday June 11

Attended Expo & rode part of bike course. Bike porn follows.

http://images.snapfish.com/343%3B9%3A%3B523232fp64%3Dot>234%3A%3D433%3D833%3DXROQDF>23238%3A%3A<38476ot1lsi

Sunday June 13

Plenty of time to prepare & talk with people in transition and on the boat who share the same interests. Pretty cool.

Swim start: Watched people jumping off the boat and briskly drifting to the right. Was the boat still moving?? Nope, that was the current. Boat was stationary. Undershot the swim, too far to the left. Lost a few minutes there. Favorite part of the race was the swim. Not too cold. Easily swimable distance. Made sure to stop a couple times & look around. Run back to T1 was fast. 480 of 1511 (68%) overall, 0:46:43.

Bike leg: Climbs were long, descents were too short. Road conditions were kinda crappy, so had to be conservative on the downhills. Couldn’t really hammer the pedals. New record top speed 42 mph. 225 of 1460 overall (85%), 1:00:07. Always feels good to pass people on carbon-fiber bikes and Zipp wheels.

Run leg: Second best part of the race. Much of the course was single-track trail. About 100 yards into the run, the men’s winner went by the other way. &*&^@^@@!!! Sand ladder was fun. Saw the old guy carrying the ball & chain. Yelled at some spectator guy wearing a black ST shirt. Awesome finish line setup. 184 of 1465 (88%) overall, 1:00:44. Final time: 2:56:47, although my watch disagrees. 237 of 1517 (84%) overall. 52 of 262 in age group (80%).

Met up with the GGTC group and my new ST friends afterward. Do they serve Killian’s in SF? Various pictures & some car porn follow.

http://images.snapfish.com/343%3B9%3A%3B523232fp63%3Dot>234%3A%3D433%3D833%3DXROQDF>23238%3A%3A<3777%3Aot1lsi http://images.snapfish.com/343%3B9%3A%3B523232fp46%3Dot>234%3A%3D433%3D833%3DXROQDF>23238%3A%3A<3777%3Bot1lsi http://images.snapfish.com/343%3B9%3A%3B523232fp46%3Dot>234%3A%3D433%3D833%3DXROQDF>23238%3A%3A<38477ot1lsi http://images.snapfish.com/343%3B9%3A%3B523232fp63%3Dot>234%3A%3D433%3D833%3DXROQDF>23238%3A%3A<37782ot1lsi

Monday June 13

5:00 AM: Couldn’t sleep, left for long morning ride across the GG bridge. Went up into the Headlands, then down into and North past Sausalito. Talked with a number of other out-of-towners who were out doing the same thing. Stress level on the descent: medium-high.

http://images.snapfish.com/343%3B9%3A%3B523232fp63%3Dot>234%3A%3D433%3D833%3DXROQDF>23238%3A%3A<37783ot1lsi http://images.snapfish.com/343%3B9%3A%3B523232fp64%3Dot>234%3A%3D433%3D833%3DXROQDF>23238%3A%3A<37784ot1lsi 11:00 AM: Finished re-packing the bike for the return trip. Much easier.

2:00 PM: Again attempted to weasel out of paying $80 for large cardboard box as checked luggage, this time @ curb-side check-in. Failed again – box had to be checked inside. Tried again at the counter. Failed again. “But I already paid $80 once on the way here! What if I say it’s just camping equipment?” “Sorry, sir, I like my job. There have been a lot of bikes coming through the airport today.” Thanks everyone for having earlier flights & ruining it for me. &&^@#@@()!+I&^&*!^

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That’s it !!

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Great report, fine race and good photos too. Brings back fond memories of a very cool race. Thank you!

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Hey Scott:

That was me in the ST black long sleeve. Man, you were flyin’ so fast I didn’t have to time to react before you went past. All I could manage was a thumbs up before you hit the trail.

I was there to give run intervals to the pros hitting the granite path for the run home. Kemper was on fire! Potts chasing Carter was awesome too. And actually, I wanted to see Ms. Gibbs as close up as possible in full run mode. Totally worth it!

Glad you had a chance to ride the Headlands Monday. You guys hit the weather just right; that is the place to be on a sunny day.

Great report and pics. See you out here next time (maybe)!

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Hey Scott,

Great race report and awesome pics. I can’t believe you did a frickin road race earlier in the week! Real nice to meet you over the weekend and sharing a few beers afterwards. Definitely a great weekend and it sounds like you had a nice ride on Monday.

Rich

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Great report. I’m back in Kona this morning after a fabulous time in SF. Friday morning at 6 am met a friend at the SE club. Water was so cold I didn’t want to put my face in. Why am I the only person here wearing a wetsuit? Went away from the swim realizing its colder than I thought it would be, but not all that bad once you get going. Loved staying at fisherman’s wharf. I love crab.

I too undershot the swim. Climbed up over the wall (ouch, barnacles on bare feet), ran across, back down over the wall to the beach to come back up across the timing mat. Water wan’t real cold. Not like Friday am (54). Didn’t realize we all had to exit out a door 2 by 2, sort of lost in the chaos at the beginning. Started at the end of my wave, next wave already beginning. Oh well. Damn those hills were steep (and long). That was the hardest 18 miles I think I’ve ever ridden. Grossly underestimated the bike. Run was awesome. What a beautiful day. Ran past my friend Kam before the finish line, he missed the shot (didn’t realize it was me until I was almost past him, couldn’t get the camera going quick enough). Julie at the finish line waiting for me! Yay. Wait a minute, where’s Jerry?? All this way, hardest race I’ve done and my #1 supporter misses my finish? 2 minutes later he shows up. He had gone to check us out of the hotel while I was running and the valet was slow getting the car. Once again, oh well. All in all, beautiful day, awesome course.

I’ve never felt so great after a race. After a shower we went to fog city diner for a big juicy burger. Yum. Then it was off to Sonoma to visit Jerry’s family and tour the wineries. Mumm was my favorite. They have a sparlkling pinot noir that is to die for. The only disappointment was not hooking up with the slowtwitch group. Maybe next time…kj

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The only disappointment was not hooking up with the slowtwitch group. Maybe next time…kj<<

Glad you had a good time, but sorry to have missed you. I emailed your phone, but got an error message back.

clm

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Thanks for trying, I’ve only had that phone for a couple of weeks, guess I need to figure out how to use it better. …kj

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Thanks to everyone. Anybody recognize the two-seater car?

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Does anyone know how many people started the race and how many finished? Were there many DNFs? In the water I got rocked by a wake from a boat with a bunch of swimmers on it. Not sure if they were being repositioned or if they were done for the day…kj

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I belive the car is a Lotus Elise. Very light, Very quick, rather uncomfortable (so I’m told). But it’s one of my personal “drool-worthy” vehicles…

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Attempted to weasel out of paying $80 for large cardboard box as checked luggage

Great Report. Below is from the USATriathlon website. I noticed this when I updated my membership recently in the sent materials. So, if America West flies to your destination, save $160 round trip.

I shared your pain on my flight to the Disnet half. But on the way back I was able to check my bike at the Disney Resort. The guy checking me in assured me I would not be billed $80. Needless to say he got a really good tip.

From Website: Access to the USA Triathlon Travel Desk. Bikes fly free when you book your trip on America West Airlines by calling (800) 309-1670.

http://www.usatriathlon.com/Membership/membership_benefits.htm

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If you check your individual results at the web site, there are statistics showing how many people completed each leg (and where you ranked). Doesn’t specifically show the number of DNFs or if there were any penalties.

Yes, the car’s a Lotus. Think it may have been an Elise.

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Thanks. America West wasn’t an option when I made my flight reservations. Glad I didn’t fork out another $50 for a rental hard case.

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Only 2.6% DNF rate.

1,557 starters (more or less–pro, AG, relays)

59 pro finishers
1,457 AG/relay finishers

41 DNFs

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Anyone pulled from the swim?

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I watched the whole swim from the seawall just west of the exit. The first rescue boat that let about six or so swimmers off resulted in DNFs for those guys (they looked kind of sheepish as they walked past the gauntlet of spectators; none of them crossed the timing pad by the look of it.)

Then, the pros started hitting the beach. As the number of age groupers coming in started to swell, the rescue boats started “repositioning” swimmers with increasing frequency. Some folks clearly got a break in that if they were left to their own devices, they’d be out the Gate or at least down Crissy Field a piece. I don’t believe the rescue craft want to cut across the path of too many swimmers who are taking an OK line so the rescued swimmers usually got dropped within 100 meters of the beach.

Clearly there’s some time lost in getting picked up, ferried, and dropped off but it seems like a pretty nice boost for some folks. Who knows. I suspect since most of these folks are MOPers and BOPers it’s no big deal but there doesn’t seem to be any science to it.

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I beat two pros! I beat two pros!!! Now my life is complete.

2005 results are now posted on line: http://triathlons.accenture.com/SanFrancisco/tracking/SelectAthlete.aspx.

There was one DQ and one penalty. There is also a list of DNFs.

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This race was a monster, Cathy, though you knew that already! Mile for mile this was the hardest and most beautiful race I’ve done. Thanks for the recommendation on accomodations - they were perfect. Spent a few extra days in Monterrey - rode the famous 17-mile Pebble Beach loop a couple of times (unreal scenery). I envy your weather. I returned to 90+ degrees and high humidity!

Robert

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Glad you had a good time! And our weather is back to normal…foggy and cold. I had arm warmers and a vest and knickers on my ride yesterday AM.

So great to meet all of you that I did!

clm

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I watched the whole swim from the seawall just west of the exit. The first rescue boat that let about six or so swimmers off resulted in DNFs for those guys (they looked kind of sheepish as they walked past the gauntlet of spectators; none of them crossed the timing pad by the look of it.)
That might be the boat that I saw. Man, that hurts. At least they were safe though.