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Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it?
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 2010-10-04 9:14 PM |
Extreme Veteran  828    North Shore, MA. |  Subject: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it?So I'm thinking I'd like to do the 'Alcatraz 100' next year. Has anybody here done this (or the 'escape from Alcatraz tri) if so, how was the swim, was it well organized, strong currents etc etc?Any info / advice would be greatly appreciated.Thanks! |
| 2010-10-05 12:10 AM in reply to: #3132806 |
| Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? Done the swim twice. It's not terribly hard or long, but there can be swells, and water is a bit chilly. Fine with a wetsuit though. There's always some current but they schedule swims at slack tide. The current gets stronger the closer you get to shore. Done both Sharkfest and Alcatraz Challenge. Both are well organized. |
| 2010-10-05 12:10 AM in reply to: #3132806 |
| Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? |
| 2010-10-05 12:53 AM in reply to: #3132935 |
Champion 5781 Northridge, California | Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? ChrisM - 2010-10-04 10:10 PM Done the swim twice. It's not terribly hard or long, but there can be swells, and water is a bit chilly. Fine with a wetsuit though. There's always some current but they schedule swims at slack tide. The current gets stronger the closer you get to shore. ^^ This. I did the new Alcatraz Tri in August...same deal. Swim was the easiest part of the day (though we had pretty ideal conditions). |
| 2010-10-05 1:53 AM in reply to: #3132806 |
Extreme Veteran 501 Northbrook | Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? Did the Escape from The Rock tri a couple of years ago. Had great conditions for the swim, no fog, pretty calm, but at one point i touched something with my hand while swimming. Took me a few seconds to calm down and realize it wasnt a seal or other marine life, it was just a plastic bag floating. Seem to remember pockets of really dirty water. Will probably needs to sight often to not be swept out by the currents, and the race organizer will provide that info for you. Other than that, its awesome, jumping into San Francisco Bay, with Alcatraz right next to you is a great feeling. Have fun and enjoy! |
| 2010-10-05 9:42 AM in reply to: #3132806 |
Master 1696 Surprise, Arizona | Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? I did the SF Tri at Alcatraz in August, and for me (a relatively weak swimmer) it was a great experience. As ChrisM and tcovert said, it can be chilly and there are currents, but you receive a lot of instuctions on direction and compensation. I also agree with tovert in that after getting out of the water, my first thought was along the lines of 'that wasn't so bad'. TriCalifornia, who put on the race, does a fantastic job (I can't speak to how other race organizations perform as I have no other experience). They gave very specific instructions, the course was well monitored, and they took every precaution to make sure that everyone was safe and looked after. I can't overstate what a great job they did. I highly recommend doing the swim as it is one of my tri related highlights. The slogan for the race was 'It Can Be Done', and I can attest to that fact - it can, even by someone like me. |
| 2010-10-05 9:56 AM in reply to: #3132806 |
Member 56 | Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? It's 1.5 miles in 55 degree water. Not a big deal. What I don't get is that the cutoff time for the swim is 1 hour. That seems pretty tight to me. |
| 2010-10-05 10:25 AM in reply to: #3132806 |
Extreme Veteran 828 North Shore, MA. | Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? Cut off time? You mean for the Triathlon right? I didn't see anything about a cutoff for the 'Alcatraz 100'. I shall have to go back and explore their website again! |
| 2010-10-05 10:39 AM in reply to: #3132806 |
Extreme Veteran 875 Issaquah | Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? Sorry for the minor hijack but for those of you that have done it, how did you handle swimming in the cold water w/o acclimating? My understanding is that Alcatraz is a, from the boat start, meaning you are on dry land/deck until it's time to start swimming. I have done a lot of cold water swimming (50-60 degree) but for me it takes a good 5-10 dunks to get used to the temperature so that it doesn't take my breath away when trying to swim. How do you overcome that cold water reaction of losing your breath? Do you just power through it? Do you take 10-20 seconds or so after jumping in to "dunk" yourself? Is there another way to get acclimated before jumping in? |
| 2010-10-05 10:49 AM in reply to: #3132806 |
Master 1390 Ferndale, MI | Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? I did the Alcatraz Challenge in July and let me just start off by saying that swimming the bay is one of the highlights of my life. Quite an amazing experience. I will recommend going to the meetings, as well as getting in the water a few days prior (find the swim club - $6 a day!) Turns out the water was really warm for us, but 59 degrees is still fairly chilly, by my standards. On race day, make sure to spread your legs wide as you jump. This will break your dunk into the water and you won't go down as far. Swim out of the way and take the time you need at that point to acclimate to the water. At that point, start swimming exactly as they tell you, heading toward the landmarks. They ended up dropping us at nearly full ebb (unlike what we were told on the boat), so we got dragged toward the bridge quite a bit. Don't let that scare you, tho, because there was never a moment when I did not see several kayakers out watching people. This is definitely something I will do again. I can't express how exhilarating it was, finishing that swim. eta: we were told 1 hour cut-off time, but they did not enforce it. They want everyone to finish this swim, so I can't imagine them pulling anyone, unless they want to be pulled. Edited by gir1with1nose 2010-10-05 10:51 AM |
| 2010-10-05 11:19 AM in reply to: #3133569 |
Sensei Sin City | Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? Not nearly as bad as I was led to believe. Yeah, it's a bit cold and a small shock as soon as you jump in, but fine... There is a current, but if you are an average swimmer, they told us to head straight for a giant tower (I forget the name). It's located left of the pull out area (For Escape from Alcatraz) so if you keep heading for it, the current swings you right into T2. I was a bit faster, so I ended up a little left (100 yards). Slower swimmer will land a little right (so should aim a little more left). It's a piece of cake and FUN to see the seals swim under you! |
| 2010-10-05 11:29 AM in reply to: #3133544 |
Master 1696 Surprise, Arizona | Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? cnsegura - 2010-10-05 8:39 AM Sorry for the minor hijack but for those of you that have done it, how did you handle swimming in the cold water w/o acclimating? My understanding is that Alcatraz is a, from the boat start, meaning you are on dry land/deck until it's time to start swimming. I have done a lot of cold water swimming (50-60 degree) but for me it takes a good 5-10 dunks to get used to the temperature so that it doesn't take my breath away when trying to swim. How do you overcome that cold water reaction of losing your breath? Do you just power through it? Do you take 10-20 seconds or so after jumping in to "dunk" yourself? Is there another way to get acclimated before jumping in? A friend of mine (azstaterick) recommended taking a cold bottle of water on the boat and dumping it down the wetsuit before jumping in to get the shock out of the way. I tried it and it seemed to help me, whether it was only a mental thing or not. You get a pretty good adrenaline jolt when you jump into the water - I barely noticed the temperature. |
| 2010-10-05 12:26 PM in reply to: #3132806 |
| Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? Also hold onto your goggles, as it's a bit of a drop. There was a BTer that jumped in for Escape and lost his goggles, so swam without them.... |
| 2010-10-05 12:27 PM in reply to: #3132806 |
Extreme Veteran 454 Torrance/Carson | Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? I've been planning to do either Escape from Alcatraz or the SF Triathlon at Alcatraz next year and this is good advice. FYI the latter doesn't require any qualifying or lottery spots that I know of, so it's a good option for us non-elites that want to tackle that swim. |
| 2010-10-05 12:55 PM in reply to: #3133875 |
Champion 5781 Northridge, California | Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? tophermcdougall - 2010-10-05 10:27 AM I've been planning to do either Escape from Alcatraz or the SF Triathlon at Alcatraz next year and this is good advice. FYI the latter doesn't require any qualifying or lottery spots that I know of, so it's a good option for us non-elites that want to tackle that swim. ^^ That's why I decided to do it. For the record, though, I believe the SF Tri swim is somewhat shorter than the swim for Escape. |
| 2010-10-05 12:59 PM in reply to: #3132806 |
Extreme Veteran 454 Torrance/Carson | Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? Hmm. You're right. Looking at the course descriptions the Escape from Alcatraz is a little longer on the swim and run. SF Tri @ Alcatraz: 1.2 mi swim, 25 mi bike, 7 mi run Escape from Alcatraz: 1.5 mi swim, 18 mi bike, 8 mi run |
| 2010-10-05 1:02 PM in reply to: #3133965 |
| Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? tophermcdougall - 2010-10-05 10:59 AM Hmm. You're right. Looking at the course descriptions the Escape from Alcatraz is a little longer on the swim and run. SF Tri @ Alcatraz: 1.2 mi swim, 25 mi bike, 7 mi run Escape from Alcatraz: 1.5 mi swim, 18 mi bike, 8 mi run Also, the swim only races (unless connected to a tri) usually end in Aquatic Park, which is a fairly narrow opening, and if the current is running and your aim is off, might find yourself swimming upstream to get into the opening. The swims that go to Chrissy Field allow for much greater margin of error as you can ride the outgoing current to the beach. |
| 2010-10-05 1:13 PM in reply to: #3133972 |
Champion 5781 Northridge, California | Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? ChrisM - 2010-10-05 11:02 AM tophermcdougall - 2010-10-05 10:59 AM Hmm. You're right. Looking at the course descriptions the Escape from Alcatraz is a little longer on the swim and run. SF Tri @ Alcatraz: 1.2 mi swim, 25 mi bike, 7 mi run Escape from Alcatraz: 1.5 mi swim, 18 mi bike, 8 mi run Also, the swim only races (unless connected to a tri) usually end in Aquatic Park, which is a fairly narrow opening, and if the current is running and your aim is off, might find yourself swimming upstream to get into the opening. The swims that go to Chrissy Field allow for much greater margin of error as you can ride the outgoing current to the beach. SF Tri at Alcatraz splits the difference: Swim exit is at Marina Green...in between Aquatic Park and Crissy Field. |
| 2010-10-05 1:40 PM in reply to: #3132806 |
Extreme Veteran 828 North Shore, MA. | Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? Thanks so much for all the replies. Clearly, this *needs* to be on my race schedulde for next year! |
| 2010-10-05 6:11 PM in reply to: #3133437 |
Master 1472 | Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? tyler777 - 2010-10-05 7:56 AM It's 1.5 miles in 55 degree water. Not a big deal. What I don't get is that the cutoff time for the swim is 1 hour. That seems pretty tight to me. I am a slow swimmer. With the outgoing tide, if you sight correctly there is no reason to be close to that cut off. I am a 2:00 / 100 IM swimmer and went 36:13 at Escape this year (that's a 1:23 pace). I have to think that if you start flirting with that cut off it's been a pretty rough go. |
| 2010-10-05 8:53 PM in reply to: #3132806 |
Master 2202 St. Louis | Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? I did Escape From ALcatraz a couple years ago. The swim was not too bad, until you get to shore. The current gets really friggen strong, and I had to swim basically all out in the last 200m (which felt like an eternity). Seriously, the current gets so strong that you get pushed downstream very rapidly. The good news is that there is a current that basically helps you to shore, so your swim time will likely be pretty fast for the distance. |
| 2010-10-05 9:33 PM in reply to: #3132806 |
Champion 8766 Evergreen, Colorado | Subject: RE: Alcatraz swim - anybody done it? How was it? It's really a crapshoot. I did Alcatraz the year the current was really bad. Even the pro times were 1.5-2 times longer than their times the previous year. BUT the water was a balmy 59 degrees. That's warm for SF Bay. The reason Alcatraz is so hard is because the conditions vary so much. But, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity...if you are a pretty decent swimmer GO FOR IT!  |
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