Escape from Alcatraz

My mother does not like it when I sign up for Escape from Alcatraz, as she worries about me swimming in the Bay. Today I joined her, as some 10 foot monstrosity swam about 15 feet underneath me while I battled my way in from The Rock. (I didn't spend enough time looking at it to identify it, but it was certainly fish shaped and I looked away before I could determine it was a shark so I didn't totally freak out.)

This year's event was a challenging day. It didn't help that I rode from my house to Pt. Reyes and back yesterday, so my legs were a bit shot.

The day started off well enough... My dear friend Ashli and I met in transition and then headed to the bus to take us out to the San Francisco Belle, the boat which delivered us to Alcatraz. Both Ashli and I were much calmer than when we made that same journey two years ago, heading out to our first Escape from Alcatraz.

Getting off the boat is an adventure -- I equate it to jumping out of a plane. As we were lining up to jump, Ashli and I started "eww"-ing at the same time. Clearly many waiting to exit the boat decided to forego waiting until they were in the water to "warm up their wetsuits" and had chosen to do so while still on the boat. It was disgusting. I was mortified that people would do that - and clearly many had.

I had a good jump from the boat (meaning no one landed on top of me) and sighted on Sutro Tower, as we had been directed, and started my 1.5 mile swim into shore. We had been told during the athlete meeting that the currents were slower this year than in previous years, so I was expecting a longer swim, but I was not expecting to blow by the beach, as two years ago I had followed the suggested sighting plan and had a perfect landing. Not this year. I totally overshot the beach and spent 20+ minutes swimming against the current trying to make it back. Frustrating, but I made it in, trying to put a positive spin on the fact that now I had an even better training swim.

The bike was uneventful, with the exception of a man with an accent posted at the Legion of Honor in a tuxedo. He was quite the cheerleader and a joy to many. I felt the prior day in my legs, but still enjoyed the challenging ride.

The run started out slow, but after seeing Ryan, Dian and Jake I "got my legs" and actually had a relatively good, strong run during the second half of the 8 mile course. Which I needed, as I spent the first half stressing about how poorly my swim had gone.

The finish line was a welcomed sight, as I was ready to be done for the day. While the event itself wasn't my best, I still enjoyed the journey. What makes the Escape from Alcatraz so fun is that it's a local race and many friends were out on the course. Hearing friends shouting your name and waving is so wonderful and so motivating. Thank you so much to everyone out the course. You know who you are and you made my day.