Once you cross the mat the your time starts. I crossed and was ready to go. Then guy in front of me jumps onto another guys neck. Wraps his legs around the guys neck! I waited for 2 other people to go and then I jumped. It wasn't even cold. Started swimming as fast as I could so no one jumped on my neck. Jumping off of the boat is a rush. People are screaming GO!GO!GO! Talk about exciting.
First mistake was jumping off of the far right side. This put me on the Golden Gate side of the boat. A move which would come back to haunt me the rest of the swim. Tried to swim towards the towers. At one point a kayaker came up to me and said "If you get closer to shore the current won't be so bad". Really? Gee I wanted to stay in the current. It seemed like I would never get out of that current. I was way too far to the right. Tried to sight to the towers as much as I could.
Swallowed a lot of salt water. Threw up while treading water. My swim coach would be proud. Finally made it in! Got out and started walking out of the water. I could hear my hubby and coach yelling my name.
During the swim, I kept thinking- WOW! I'm really doing this! WOW!

Not jump off of the right side of the boat. Get the hell out of the current and learn how to sight better.
This was a successful swim for me. In the past I've had panic problems during swims. Not this time!

Hubby and Coach were talking to me and taking pictures while I was in transition. Found my bag, stripped the suit and sat down to put on my shoes. Dried off my feet. Ran to the bike.
Got to the bike and the girl next to me had her stuff all over the place. She would have been disqualified at any other race. Grabbed a Gu and tried to run around people in transition. My bike was one of the last 2 rows of transition. I had to run a long way. Which I'm sure accounts for the long T time!

Nothing.

Great bike course. I know my bike split would have been faster if I'd been able to see the course before hand. I was afraid to go fast on the downhills not knowing what was coming up next. The climbs weren't bad at all. I took my time and rode a comfortable pace. Stood on one hill. The scenery is beautiful.
I'm climbing a hill and all of a sudden I hear U2's "It's a Beautiful Day" getting closer and closer to me on the bike. Some guy has a radio mounted to his bike? WTF? But who am I to complain. It was a beautiful day.

Pre-ride the course. Go faster and be more aggressive on the bike. I spent way to much time worrying about what was coming up next on the down hills to get up a lot of speed.

Bottle neck at bike in. I couldn't get around people on the chute that were taking their time coasting in.

Nothing

We ran on trails, sand, dirt, rocks, bark, through tunnels and up the sand ladder. I kept wondering when we were going to take off our shoes and run through burning coals. Lots of stairs at this race. Which is great unless you are as uncoordinated as I am.
Stopped for a potty break on the way out. The girls restroom was crowded. Ran into the guys and almost ran over a guy coming out. He told me it was nasty in there. Ran back to the girls bathroom.
Now the fun starts. Up the warmup stairs. Talked to Jennifer and xxman on the way out. Jennifer told me about her BT tattoo's in her shoe. Ouch!
It was really crowded on the stairs with people coming up and down at the same time. Ran when I could and walked when I needed to walk. Up stairs, down stairs....For some strange reason the song- "Over the river and through the woods to grandmothers house we go", kept going through my head. The views were amazing. We ran through a tunnel. Up and down more stairs? Finally we can see the beach. The sand was really deep on the beach. I walked through the deep sand until I could get closer to the water. Ran to the turn around and back down again. There in the distance is the sand ladder. I was ready for the sand ladder.Used my arms and walked up the ladder. One of my best splits is the sand ladder. I have no idea how that happened! Got to the top of the ladder and asked the guy where the beer was. He was high fiving everyone at the top. Sand Ladder down now it is time to go home.
I loved this run. I could see Alcatraz in the distance. Which got me pumped up all over again.
I could see a girl whose age was close to mine in the last 2 miles. I ran past her and picked it up. I could hear her tell someone that I was in the same AG and she didn't have it left to catch me. Which just made me speed up even more. Finished the race strong and happy.

Move to SF.
Run faster and walk less. I had way too much left at the end of the race.

Finished the race. Met hubby and coach and ate. Chatted with Rick and his beautiful family. Went back to the hotel and packed up.


Not knowing the course or living in SF. I met my goal of enjoying the race.This is a great race. Escaping from Alcatraz has been a dream of mine for a long time. I enjoyed every minute of this race.


Great race. I can't wait to do it again.