Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic


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San Francisco, California
United States
Tricalifornia
Sunny
Total Time = 3h 59m 20s
Overall Rank = 1476/1617
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 276/287
Pre-race routine:

Saturday, day before the race:
- Drove to San Francisco with a friend, who was also doing the race, to pick up our race packets and attend the pre-race meeting. We brought our bikes with us since we anticipated the usual packed parking at the Marina Green.
- We listened closely to the swim talk. What the water conditions were (56-57 degrees), and what and how to sight for the swim.
- Having done the swim twice before, I was familiar with the usual land marks, but only one was mentioned, Sutro tower. Fast/proficient swimmers should sight the tower at their 1 o'clock, slower swimmers at 2 o'clock. I already knew I needed to have that tower at my 3 o'clock.
- After the talk, we rode our bikes to the swim exit area about .5 mile away just to check it out. Looking at the beach area in front of the yacht club, we both thought "that's going to be a very small landing area to make".
- Back home, I made some decisions that go against one of the cardinal rules of triathlon. Most notably, "Nothing new for race day":
1) A relatively new tri suit (used it once for an open water swim at aquatic park and a 'short' bike ride).
2) new tri bike shoes
3) new aero drinking bottle. And as long as I'm on a roll, I might as well tack on 'lack of long workouts'.
Fortunately there were no serious consequences from any of the above, other than less-than-stellar times, but more on this later.

Other pre-race day notables:
- Stayed up too late packing. Didn't matter though because once I got to bed the butterflies in me were fluttering too loudly to get any decent sleep.
- I didn't need those two glasses of wine with dinner (pasta w/pesto, garlic bread).
- I still ended up forgetting to pack my flip-flops for the bus ride from race site to the boat.

Race day morning:
- Got up at 4AM. Drank a tall glass of water and then showered.
- Ate half of a toasted bagel with peanut butter. Downed another glass of water.
- loaded the bike and tri bag into the car.
- Had a cup of coffee in the car.
- Went to pick up my race buddy at her house.
- Uneventful drive & arrival at race site. Plenty of parking close to Crissy field.
- Racking up my bike and setting up my transition area went smoothly. Even better-than-usual because the people on either side of me didn't arrive yet so I had plenty of space to set up.
- Took mental note of my bike rack location, and the transition entrances and exits. Even had some extra time to snap some pictures and enjoy the moment.
Event warmup:

Did nothing for a warm-up. Preferred to conserve energy and just mentally prepare for the race ahead. I did some light stretching after I got my wetsuit on and just before the swim.
Swim
  • 53m 34s
  • 2640 yards
  • 02m 02s / 100 yards
Comments:

- Not an easy swim to begin with.
- I'm not a strong swimmer to begin with.
- I forgot to grab my ear plugs from my tri bag, but fortunately, thinking back to the swim, I don't think that I needed them.
- I think I had a great swim start. I wasn't hesitant about jumping in at all. If anything, I wanted to push the person in front of me into the water because I thought they were waiting too long (They try to get all the athletes off the boat in 10 minutes!).
- I held on to my goggles and jumped feet first into the frigid San Francisco bay. I opened my eyes for a brief moment while I was below the surface and all I could see was green murky water. I popped right up to the surface and started swimming before even sighting.
- I got a few good strokes in so I could swim away from the boat and not have the next person jump right on top of me. The water was cold, but not so cold that I couldn't feel like swimming. I looked up, found Sutro tower and tried to keep it at my 2 o'clock position.
- About 3/4 of the way into the swim, I started to fatigue. I found a kayaker paddling near me to my right. I could see just behind him the Golden Gate bridge. Two thoughts immediately came to my mind: 1) I'm swimming too slowly and I'm going to miss the beach landing. 2) The bay current is going to carry me under the Golden Gate bridge.
I thought I heard him yell "swim harder!". Whether he yelled it or not, I started to put some extra effort in my stroke again, but with it came more fatigue.
- As I got closer to the beach landing I could clearly see the orange buoys and tried to get closer to them, but I then realized that I was too far down the swim course and was right in the current. The water temperature dropped fast and felt really cold at that point. I wasn't sure if that was a sign of the fast moving current, but at one point I came to the conclusion that I was just fighting it and swimming against it. What's worse is that I think I spent a good amount of time with that fight instead of just swimming past the buoys and heading for shore.
Once I made the decision to swim for shore instead of swimming to the buoys, I was actually surprised how fast I got to shore. And before I knew, my fingers touched sand.
I'm disappointed on how much time and energy I spent trying to get to those buoys instead of just sucking it up and heading for any place on the shore.
- So I missed the official landing area by about 200 yards. It wasn't too bad and I still got to run along the sandy beach instead of the rocks if I hand landed to far ahead. I did have to jump over a couple of rocks, but overall it was an uneventful swim exit and still very happy to have finished the swim from 'the rock'.
What would you do differently?:

- Only three things come to mind if I had to do anything differently in the swim.
1) Relax more. I had some fleeting moments where my stroke felt efficient. When I forced myself to relax and took the extra half second to 'glide', and let my front hand just hang out there before the catch, it really felt like I was moving. But it didn't take long before I went back to my old style of just muscling my way through the water, stroke count be damned, the more and harder strokes the better. And with it the fatigue.
2) I should have kept sutro tower more to 3 o'clock like I planned. Why I didn't, I don't know. Maybe it was just poor sighting.
3) Sight more frequently. I'm typically all over the place in open water. One of these days I need to swim with a GPS on race day. I wouldn't be surprised if after uploading it to a map I'd find a perfect zig-zag pattern. When I did remember to sight more frequently (sighted every 5 or so strokes), I actually did better going where I wanted to go. gee. what a concept.

Accepting that I'm not a strong swimmer to begin with, I'd say that overall my swim was 'average'.
Transition 1
  • 08m 55s
Comments:

The T1 transition consisted of a half mile run from the swim exit to the bike transition area.

I had a difficult time getting the wetsuit off at my wrists and ankles. I normally don't have any issues with getting the wetsuit off at the arms, but I found my self really getting at the wetsuit and trying to rip it off around my hands. Getting the shoes on for the .5 run was perfect.

Ran into the bike transition, found my bike, put the bike gear on and ran the bike out the transition area. But once on the bike, I had some trouble clipping in and getting going. As soon I clipped in I was off and pedaling.

Looked at my HRM and saw it was at 90%.
What would you do differently?:

Practice getting the wetsuit off while standing up, especially stepping on it to get my legs out. I made sure I put a generous amount of body glide around my wrists and ankles. I can't imagine that putting on any more than I did would have really helped.
Maybe it's time to try a different glide-like product.



Bike
  • 1h 23m 15s
  • 18 miles
  • 12.97 mile/hr
Comments:

Coming back into the transition area was a re-energinzing point for me. Seeing the streets lined with people on both sides, cow bells going off, the yelling and cheering...the person that could put all of that energy in a bottle would make millions.

The issue of wearing a relatively new tri suit on race day bit me.

There were times I could not find the back pocket.

At one point on the bike course, I was riding with half-eaten cliff bar w/ wrapper in my mouth because I couldn't find the pocket in the back and I didn't want to just toss it on the bike course.
Quite a challenge going down hill fast with something clinched between your teeth and something flapping against your nose. I ended up shoving the cliff bar and wrapper in my aero drink.

I also cut the plastic drinking tubes on my aero drink bottle too short the day before.
What would you do differently?:

The lack of long training rides, especially on the hills, speaks for itself.
I just have to get out there and ride.
Transition 2
  • 00m
Comments:

Finding my rack # and the overall transition went smoothly. No issues.

I found my wife waiting with our dog at the transition area. Of course I spent a few seconds or so while I talked to her and gave her a kiss. I didn't get a chance to kiss the dog, though.

For some reason I didn't get a T2 time which also meant I didn't get an actual run split. Timing mat/chip malfunction?
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 00m
  • 8 miles
  •  min/mile
Comments:

I was cautious on the first mile as my quads were feeling tight.

Unfortunately it wasn't until the run turnaround on the beach that I felt my legs really felt comfortable running and I could hold a good stride.

The first time I ran the course 2 years ago I made the mistake of running without socks and as soon as the sand got in my shoes it was like running with very course sandpaper for socks. My running shoes still have the blood stains from that race. I made sure not to repeat that mistake today.

As soon as I reached the run on the beach, I could feel the cool sand starting to make it's way inside my shoes, but wearing socks kept the sand away from my skin and it never became an issue for the rest of the run.

I had a plan to run on the beach (stay as close to the water where the sand was packed) that worked pretty well for me. While everyone was taking a direct route to the turnaround point on the other end of the beach, I made a direct route to the water to get to the packed sand.
Although it may have been made my run a little bit longer, I think it made up some overall time because I was able to run more efficiently on stable ground.
When I got the the last aid station coming back, one of the volunteers yelled 'one mile to go!", and that's when I decided to kick it up a notch and finish strong. At one point during the last mile I looked down at my watch and saw a 8:30 pace (on par with my training run). I just hoped I had enough in the tank to still cross the finish line with a smile.
About 200 yards from the finish line and just before entering the finish chute, I heard and then saw my wife and friend cheering me on. I took a moment to wave to them before making the sprint to the finish.
Both fists pumped up in the air and a photo-finish smile just as I crossed.

What would you do differently?:

train! For me, It doesn't get any more clearer than that.
Post race
Warm down:

none. Unless gathering and packing all the gear counts. and then walking with everything back to the car.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

training!

Definitely need longer workouts.

Event comments:

The Escape from Alcatraz is definitely my favorite race yet (although I have high expectations of Ironman Florida this year too).

The scenic course, the outpouring of volunteers, and the people and tourists cheering everyone on is spectacular.

I hope to do this race again next year (and plan to be better prepared with the right training!).



Profile Album


Last updated: 2008-03-10 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:53:34 | 2640 yards | 02m 02s / 100yards
Age Group: 272/287
Overall: 1522/1617
Performance: Average
Suit: Orca Apex, Full
Course: The boat ride to Alcatraz was beatiful. The sun was bright and not a cloud in the sky. Nothing like the fog I remember the last time I did this swim. The water seemed 'calm' for the SF bay. I don't recall much of a wind, but there was a slight chop in the water. Off in the distance, I could even see the three bright orange buoys that marked the beach landing. I wondered if I would be able to see them once I got into the water. It didn't really matter, since I was planning on sighting Sutro tower for most of my swim.
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 56F / 13C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding:
T1
Time: 08:55
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Below average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
01:23:15 | 18 miles | 12.97 mile/hr
Age Group: 273/287
Overall: 1444/1617
Performance: Below average
Wind: None
Course: It was my second race with the Cervelo, but probably only my 4th 'long' ride on it (and I'm counting my previous race as one of those long rides). I'm still getting used to being on a tri bike, but it has a much better lower gearing than my road bike, so I was able to get up the hills a little easier. The course is hilly and I thought there was a lot of turns. There are very few opportunities to stay in the aero position very long. The ride thorough Golden Gate park was very bumpy. Everytime I went over a bump, I had to reach behind me to make sure the water bottle wasn't ejecting. It was still a great bike course and I did make sure to look around and see where I was at. Although I live only 20 minutes away from San Francisco, I'm rarely ever there, let alone there on a bike. There is one advantage I like about hills, and that's going down them...fast. Whenever I'm going downhill, I look at take it as opportunity for some free speed. Whether it's on a bike or running, I just let it go. I'll even put a bit of effort pedaling down hill and pass as many people as I can. But it doesn't last too long because all those people that I just passed end up catching me going up on the next hill. Oh well. I guess nothing really is for free.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Below average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:00:00 | 08 miles |  min/mile
Age Group: 0/287
Overall: 0/1617
Performance: Average
As expected, I forgot to stop my HRM at the finish line. It wasn't until I was back in the transition area to get my bike that I realized it was still running. So I'm guesstimating that my run time was around 1:30 Max HR was 189 / Avg: 163 (actual avg was most likly a bit higher)
Course: It's just as hilly as the bike course and quite a bit of single track trail running. There were times where I was forced to walk behind other runners being held up by someone walking futher up ahead and there wasn't any room to go around (runners coming from the other direction were on the other side of the running trail).
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5