Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

I'm a swimmer but suffered a spiral fracture of my scapula in late February. I swam strong but measured. I didn't think much about the swim before hand, I was so fearing the run. I swam alone and did not draft. This suited me fine. I had to pass literally hundreds of swimmers. Lucky for me I was up-current and they had formed an echelon. It made it easy
They advised us to sight on the tower. I did but ended having to swim down current 100 yds before I could get out. I doubt this caused me to lose much time. This was only the second time I had ever worn a wetsuit. It worked great, but in combination with the buoyancy of salt water, sometimes I felt I was bobbing like a float. I came out of the water refreshed and energized. I had lots of fun.

Wear more clothes onto the boat and trust that my bag gets back to me (it did). Put my wetsuit on the boat as we headed out for the swim, not before. Take a more aggressive direct line to the finish. Ignore the request to go to the second floor of the boat, and just try to get be one of the earliest starters. Train more.

Ran the 1K warmup poorly, which I expected. I stopped to talk to my 8 year old son.

Nothing except train for the run more. I lost a minute or 2 talking with my son at the bike transition, but I wouldn't change that. It was one of the highlights of the race for me.

I am a reasonably good cyclist when I have been training for a few months; and I enjoy climbing. I took it very slow because I wanted to save a lot for the run. It was part of my race plan.

Train more, especially on hills. Otherwise none. I followed my race plan and it worked.

I stopped again for a minute to talk with my son. I loved it, especially when I said to him that everyone was running away, and asked if I should chase them.

Nothing.

I survived. An experience in pain tolerance. It was ugly, but I finished. I stuck to my race plan, and walked everything I had decide to the day before. Complete, not compete was my motto.
I sprinted the last 100 yds. to the finish, my second favorite part of the race. Talking to my son was my favorite.

Train more. I'll never be a great runner, but I am a lot better than I was that day.

Talked to my son. Put my medal around his neck. Need I say more.


Early season injury and subsequent shortened training period. Wasn't able to include intensity in my workouts because of lack of fitness and fear of overtraining.


I followed my pre-race plan and it worked perfectly. I loved this race and can't wait to go back. With 3 months of training I seriously think could cut 20+ minutes from my time. I would love to have the opportunity to try.