Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon - TriathlonOther


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San Francisco, California
United States
IMG
60F / 16C
Overcast
Total Time = 3h 25m 50s
Overall Rank = 1162/2060
Age Group = 20-24
Age Group Rank = 4/8
Pre-race routine:

Set three alarms, ate a blueberry muffin, biked over in the dark (San Francisco can be sketchy), set up transition, boarded bus for pier.
Event warmup:

Pretty sure my heart was beating fast enough on the boat.
Swim
  • 30m 3s
  • 2640 yards
  • 01m 08s / 100 yards
Comments:

I absolutely flew on this swim course. Getting out of the water was the one time I was up there with the pros.
What would you do differently?:

Calm down and relax about sighting. Navigation isn't as hard as you think, but it does feel like your wetsuit is choking you when you lift your head straight up. I ended up sighting to the left and right and just made sure I was in between more swim caps, and only occasionally looked up.
Transition 1
  • 08m 25s
Comments:

I haven't ever really tried to run right out of a long swim like that, and it was just awful. I kind of took my time on this one. I was also trying to process the fact that I had just swam from Alcatraz.
What would you do differently?:

There's nothing that can really be done about this - it's a half mile run after scrambling to find your shoes amongst everyone else's stuff, then through the grass to transition.
Bike
  • 1h 22m 13s
  • 18 miles
  • 13.14 mile/hr
Comments:

As a side note, renting a bike from Blazing Saddles was a great choice. Cheap rental fee for the weekend and not enough can be said about what a great bike and great people they are. Highly recommend.
What would you do differently?:

I didn't train this very well and I knew it. I'm not a climber and this is not a race for amateur cyclists.
Transition 2
  • 02m 52s
Comments:

I took my time on this transition, too. I figured I wasn't losing the race in transition so much as the hills, so I tried to give myself enough to drink and eat when I could.
What would you do differently?:

Not much.
Run
  • 1h 22m 19s
  • 8 miles
  • 10m 17s  min/mile
Comments:

The clouds came out just as we started running, which was great. I loved this run and I felt good the whole time. I pushed just hard enough that I was comfortable but my legs stayed under me. Also, all you had to do if you wanted to quit was look around - the Golden Gate Bridge is right there, the cliffs are beautiful, and Alcatraz is in sight the whole way back.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. 10:18 miles sounds slow, but the terrain and crowded conditions are iffy. I felt like I was running closer to 9:00 miles if it had been flat and less complex.
Post race
Warm down:

Wandered, collected gear, hauled ass to the airport to get home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Training and lack of familiarity with the course.

Event comments:

Overall, my favorite race I've ever done. It was expensive but worth it, and everyone there was friendly and sharing such an amazing experience with you, so it felt welcoming and supportive. I feel so fortunate to have been able to run this one and I'd do it over and over - not many people can say they've done something like this.




Last updated: 2010-12-17 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:30:03 | 2640 yards | 01m 08s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/8
Overall: 240/2060
Performance: Good
Suit: Full wetsuit
Course: Angled line to beach
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Waves
Water temp: 56F / 13C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding:
T1
Time: 08:25
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:22:13 | 18 miles | 13.14 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/8
Overall: 1612/2060
Performance: Below average
Wind: Little
Course: Hilly, hilly, hilly...the nice thing is that you can really count on going straight up and straight down only a few times because it's so sustained, and you know what you're going to have to climb on the way back since it's out and back.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Below average Cornering: Below average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Below average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 02:52
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
01:22:19 | 08 miles | 10m 17s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/8
Overall: 1296/2060
Performance: Good
3:53 on sand ladder
Course: Where do you even begin? Flat pavement out, then a wide trail, then super narrow trails, then stairs, then vertical pavement, then steep downhill on pavement, then deep, loose sand...then packed sand near the water, adn then the sand ladder. Then back up pavement, down narrow trails, up stairs, down slopes, wide trail, then flat pavement back. The last 1.5 miles of flat pavement in sight of the transition were the worst because you think you should be done already.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5