Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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San Francisco, California
United States
Tricalifornia
60 F / 16C
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 53m
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 30 - 39
Age Group Rank = 71/101
Pre-race routine:

got up around 3 b/c of nerves. laid in bed till 4:30, ate a granola bar and dranks some water. Rode down to transition around 5:15 ish. So glad we stayed about 1/2 mile away. Racked the bike, checked everything 11 times, made sure I dropped the right bag off with the baggers and headed to the bus. ESPN was there interviewing someone but I didn't regognize him.
Event warmup:

Found my friend Bill down waiting for the Hornblower to take us to the Rock - chatted with him and Michelle, who I met on the bus. On the boat, Michelle and I found each other again and just relaxed and tried to visualize myself completing the swim this year.
Swim
  • 48m
  • 2640 yards
  • 01m 49s / 100 yards
Comments:

Last year I panicked in the water and DNF'ed. My goal was to stay off the boat and finish the race. Well, I finished the race. My rented suit felt fine in the store and I didn't have time to swim with it before hand. BIG mistake. It was too small in the shoulders and didn't allow me to breathe and stroke at all. I tried freestyle for a while, choked, tried breast stroke, choked, and wound up backstroking for EVER. Apparently, I was going in circles in the middle of the bay for quite sometime because the kayak guy finally said they'd have to reposition me since I was swimming nowhere. It wasn't too choppy this year - just some big swells that came out of nowhere for a few minutes. I was so frustrated and pissed that I wasn't able to complete the swim but determined to finish the race. The boat swept me up and I hopped on with a couple of other athletes. There were quite a bit of people getting swept past the swim exit and the support kayaks were busy. We waited for most everyone to get out of the water then the boat let us jump off about 200 yds. off shore. Not quite the swim I had expected, but at least I can bike now.
It was a cool swim - everyone always says to take a minute and float on your back and enjoy the view. I had plenty of time on my back and it was very cool to be inbetween Alcatraz and SF.
What would you do differently?:

Try on the wetsuit in the pool first. That, and make sure my goggles form a seal around my face when my squid lid is on. They didn't and my goggles leaked like mad.
Transition 1
  • 00m
Comments:

A long run to T1 - I had a jacket in my bag b/c last year it was so, so chilly. Decided I didn't need it so off came the suit and on went the sneaks. Jogged back to the transition and looked around for Mike but couldn't find him anywhere.
Bike
  • 00m
  • 18 miles
  • 0.00 mile/hr
Comments:

The bike was very hilly but even more beautiful. There were some spots where I was able to catch my breath from going up hill and from flying down the hills. Twice my chain popped off - on a hill but I was able to clip out in time and finally got it back on and was on my merry little way. The one REALLY steep section I knew about so I just dropped into my granny gear and zoomed (kind of) up it. Part of what made the bike tough were the sharp turns right after the decents and right before the ascents. It was hard to keep the speed up. I also stopped for some cytomax and to switch water bottles. That took longer than I thought - but I really wanted the cytomax at that point - back up past the Legion of Honor.
What would you do differently?:

Push myself harder on the hills and bring more to drink.
Transition 2
  • 00m
Comments:

Saw Mike quickly and told him about the dreaded swim. I certainly don't rush here and wanted to make sure I didn't forget anything.
Run
  • 00m
  • 8 miles
  •  min/mile
Comments:

I felt great off the bike and was looking forward to the run. At this point, Im going to finish so I took it easy going up the stairs and on the single track. It was easier and I conserved a lot of energy staying put rather than try and pass more people on a single track trail. I did pass a couple but really just followed along. The beach was tough - there was next to no hard pack to run on. The sand ladder was tough and funny - I was behind a couple of guys just taking our time holding on and plodding up from behind we hear ""On your left, being passed by a 64 yr. old woman!" and she flies up the middle of the steps like we're not moving. GOOD FOR HER! THe guys were so mortified it was comical. And I loved the guy in front of me 1/2 mile to the finish whip out his cell and call his wife almost in tears saying he's gonna finish in 5 minutes. Such a fun, challenging, beautiful race!
What would you do differently?:

Trust my traianing more and go faster!
Post race
Warm down:

Found Mike, walked around for a bit and got a massage. Finally met up with Bill and walked back to the hotel. I wasn't even remotely hungry from all the water and cytomax but man, come 3pm I could've eaten a sea lion!!!
Finally headed down for a big burger and some beer around 4 and felt much better!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

wetsuit, goggles, not trusting my training enough to allow me to go faster without bonking.

Event comments:

I love this race! Part of me would like to do it again to officially do the swim but I'm not 100% sure yet.




Last updated: 2008-06-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:48:00 | 2640 yards | 01m 49s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/101
Overall: 1497/
Performance: Bad
Suit: too small-full
Course: From Alcatraz, the swim is a diagonal towards the Golden Gate Bridge. You sight almost straight across the bay and let the current take you where you need to go.
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 56F / 13C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Below average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Bad
Rounding:
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance:
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:00:00 | 18 miles | 0.00 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/101
Overall: 1313/
Performance:
Wind: Little
Course: Awesome!! Such a scenic and beautiful course. The hills actaully weren't as bad as I had anticipated.
Road:  Dry Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:00:00 | 08 miles |  min/mile
Age Group: 0/101
Overall: 1305/
Performance:
Course: First and last 2 miles were flat and the middle 4 went up and down and up and down. Again, beautiful scenery!
Keeping cool Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5]