After the infamous Thursday night swim (took an hour to swim half a mile in a good chop and into a 4.8 knot current) I was still a bit intimidated by this swim, despite the clinic coaches assurances this would be way easier. It was supposed to be a wave start but after the pros took off that went out the window and people started just jumping out whenever. I was supposed to be in the second wave after the relays and I suddenly realized that everyone was pushing out and there was hardly anyone left in the boat. I pushed through the door and they were yelling, "Go Go Go!" You didn't have a moment to think, you just ran out, held onto your goggles and jumped. And then you swam like hell to get out of the way and get out of the Alcatraz current.

Because all sources had indicated you need to sight and swim a bit to the left to stay on course I did just that, but apparently the current was working with us better than they had thought because they kept rounding us up and sending us more to the right. My parents said for most it was pretty much a straight shot from the boat to shore. We had a 4.8 knot current working with us and it clearly makes a huge difference.

I apparently did not want to let go of the whole swim to the left thing and I very much underestimated my swim speed and my sighting was off because of it. They sent me to the right multiple times before someone finally told me what I should have been sighting off of based on my swim. It was WAY more to the right than I was swimming. I probably would have been a couple minutes faster if I hadn't spent so much time fighting the current more than I needed to by trying to swim to the left. Overall I thought it was a really good swim though. It was MUCH faster than I expected and went way smoother than Thursday. And the clinic helped a lot. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I say that clinic is worth a thousand dollars. Lucky for me they only charged $15. If you ever do this race, sign up for Water World Swim's "Swim with Pedro" Alcatraz Clinic. It's a worthwhile investment.

I also pee'd in my wetsuit for the first time. It took me almost to the end of the swim to do it because it defied everything I believe about not going to the bathroom any ole place. I had to slow down a bit near the end and really concentrate on making myself go, but I knew I'd lose a lot more time stopping off at a restroom once I was out of the water than I would in it.

As I got closer to the shore I could see the crowds standing at the finish, as well as a few flash bulbs here and there. And then I could hear the dull roar of the cheering through my ear plugs and I started to get a little emotional. As nervous as I had been for this swim, it was overwhelming to finish. Since crying is generally not conducive to breathing while swimming, I kept it in check though. :)

Sight better knowing now how the swim actually goes, not be so nervous so I could soak up more of the coolness that I was doing this race, and remember to stop and look back at Alcatraz much earlier in the swim. So cool.

This transition involved stopping off right after the swim to take off your wetsuit and shove it in a plastic bag and then about a half mile run on hard, rough asphalt to the transition area. Because it was so cold in the morning I stupidly did not want to switch over to flip flops and left only those for the run from the swim exit to transition so I could keep my warmer tennis shoes until the boat. Wtih wet slippery feet it was really dumb decision. I finally took them off and ran without them but my feet hurt so bad it really slowed me down and I know I lost a minute or two. The rest of transition went about the same as always. I need a lot of work on T1. It's always WAY too slow.

Leave tennis shoes at the swim exit instead of flip flops.

The ride was pretty but involved some very rough road at times. Rough enough a guy who was flying down a road beside me got a pinch flat rolling over a tough section. I heard a big pop and some metallic sounds and saw what looked like a couple of screws fly off before he pulled to the side. Since flying downhill scares me anyway, doing so on rough roads with some sharp turns at the bottom as this course had, coupled with his pinch flat and a nasty accident that happened later on the in the race, I continued my not good tradition of riding my brakes on the downhill. It really killed my time and overall rank too. I did really well on the uphills, but I didn't make enough ground on anyone to prevent them from passing me on the downhill. I tried to go as hard as possible on the flat to make up for it, but they were usually good on those too and I couldn't catch anyone.

The hills were very tough. I felt like hurling once I got to the top of a couple of them and I was glad to see how strong I was in comparison to some of those around me.

Get more experience, bike handling skills, and confidence riding downhill so I don't lose time there. Train enough to be a stronger cyclist in general. The bike always kills me in the race.

This was a much better transition. Much more in line with what I would expect of myself, although I would eventually like to get my T2 down closer to 1 minute.

Nothing. It went about as smooth as it ever does for me.

Ahh the run. The part I will always love the most. And what an awesome run it was. Some single track on the course that sometimes made it hard to pass anyone. It was very tight for two people (one going each way) and there was definitely no room to cut around anyone sometimes. And it was gorgeous. The whole run I kept thinking how I couldn't believe I was getting to do such an awesome and beautiful race. Given the terrain, I felt like the run went really well.

Not much. It went well, felt good, I was fast enough to pass a lot of people and I stayed strong. Overall an awesome run.

It is such a phenomenal race and I was so overwhelmed to have done it that when I crossed the finish line I started feeling a little emotional again and threw my arms out and started grinning like an idiot. It was really amazing!

I walked around for a few minutes and felt a little light headed from the push at the end. Couldn't find my parents so I went back to transition and called them. Packed up while I waited for them and then drank a big bottle of Recoverite on the way back to the hotel.


I made some stupid first timer's mistakes that I would not make again if I did this race in the future. There were just some things I had never encountered in another race I didn't quite know how to handle. I also would have benefitted from a little more hill and stair training with the run, but that still went well overall. Otherwise, I just need to keep hammering away on the bike, literally. It's my weakest link and I need to work on it.


I'm still so in awe I was able to do this race. It was an incredible experience and I loved every minute of it, even the more difficult ones. It is well organized and supported, first timer friendly despite it's difficulty, beautiful, and well worth the time, energy, and money. I'd love to do it again.