Ever since we moved to San Francisco I have been intrigued by the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon. I had often thought that I would like to do it but not being much of a swimmer, I was always put off by the long swim accross the bay. However, last November I gave the lottery a go, and got lucky.
The event is like no other triathlon consisting of a 1.5 mile swim, a 1 Km run to transition, an 18 mile ride and an 8 mile run. It doesn't sound too difficult but in reality it is a very tough course all around.
It all starts with a 5 AM check-in to set up your transition area on Marina Green. Fortunately, Sunday was very mild and there was a beautiful sunrise over the Bay. After we had set up we were bused off to Pier 3 on the Embarcadaro to the ferry that would take us out into the Bay. The ferry left at about 7:20 AM so there was quite a bit of hanging around which most people spent linng up for the porta-potties.
The boat was packed with 1800 athletes; the pros and under 40s were crammed into the lower level, and the over 40s onto the second floor. The boat was manoevered into position just west of the Rock so that we could start at 8 AM. Getting 1800 people off a boat in a matter of minutes is quite a feat. One the horn sounded, the pros hit the water, jumping or diving from the deck. Here are some views of the swim start:
Thirty second later the rest of us were herded through the boat and into the water. In all it must have only been about 5 minutes from the start to when I suddenly found myself leaping into the icing bay water. Well, to be honest it didn't feel that cold. Usually it takes me a few minutes to adjust to the temperature but on Sunday I felt just fine.
I decided to risk taking a cheap waterproof camera with me on the swim. I was a little unsure whether it would work or how I would carry it but I ended up tying it to my zip cord and dragging behind me in the water. Although the quality of pictures is not great, I think that it gives a good idea of the amazing views we had from the water. Once I cleared the shadow of the boat I could see all the major bay landmarks: the Bay Bridge, the City, Golden Gate Bridge, and Alcatraz. It was quite an amazing view. Here is what the Rock looks like from the water:
Initially the swim when quite smoothly. I was using Fort Mason as my direction locator and felt like I was making good progress. Over what must have only been a few minutes, everything changed. The fog rolled in and the wind picked up. Suddenly it was hard to see anything at all.
Fortunately there were plenty of kayaks around to direct us and you could just about make out the shoreline. The wind came in from the west and created some rather large waves which made the swim a major challenge. It felt like every other stroke was met by a large wave bearing down on me. It was noticable how split up we all were. once I got into the swim, it seemed like there were only 2 or 3 people in sight for most of the time.
Still I somehow made good progress through the waves, and before long I could site the finish down by the Marina Yacht Club. A large crowd had gathered to cheer us out of the water and down to the transition area.
The bike ride was a blast. It was a familiar course which made things a little easier in that I thought I knew what to expect. Basically, we rode a series of hills with little flat ground. The course ran up through the Presidio, out to the Legion of Honor, down to Ocean Beach with a loop though Golden Gate Park and back. It was hard and fast.
To be honest I had been dreading the run almost as much as the swim. Again it was realitively short at 8 miles but the course had a few major challenges. The first was a long climb up the stairs that run from the Warming Hut to the Golden Gate Bride, the second was a run up and down Baker Beach on the sand, and the third was the climb up the Sand Ladder from Baker Beach. This combined with more hills and some very narrow and congested trials made for an exhausting but exhilerating run. In many ways the run was a lot of fun as I got to see a number of my team mates along the way including Cesar, George, Victoria, Michelle and Coach Wayne. Also, the spectators had much more of an impact. I was wearing my IronTeam jersey so I got an enormous amount of support along the way. In addition to Raj, there must have been 15-20 of our team out around the course cheering us along. On top of that, there were a quite a few people from TNT teams around the country with who we exchanged "GO TEAM!" along the way.
In the end, I had a good run and finished strong which is just as well as it is less than 3 months to IronMan Canada. Here I am in the finishing straight:
My finish time was 3 hours and 11 minutes; the swim took 50 minutes, the bike 1 hour 2 mins and the run, 1 hour 7 mins.
Overall, I was happy with my performance. Most importantly, though, was the sense of accomplishment from having completed one of the classic San Francisco sporting events - one that I thought that I would never be capable of doing. Here is to hoping that I can get to do it all again next year!
