Escape from Alcatraz

They say no one has ever escaped from Alcatraz, I beg the differ, I did! After months of training and mental preparation at 7:30 AM on Sunday June 5th I jumped off the San Francisco Belle with 2000 other athletes into the San Francisco bay for the 1.5 mile swim to shore. There is nothing like hitting the salty 52 degree water of the San Francisco bay for a wake up call. After hitting the water one thought came to my mind "how did I get here?"
     Six months ago I put my name in a lottery for the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon. At the time I thought I didn't have a chance in hell of getting into the race. This is a premiere event and spots come at a premium. People from around the world do qualifying races to get in to this race. At this years race there were athletes from all 50 states and 40 countries. The rest of us have to hope we "win"the lottery.  You have to be careful what you wish for. After I got selected I started my training in earnest.

     Saturday morning I planned on doing a practice swim in Aquatic Park Harbor near Ghirardelli Square. The idea for the practice swim was to get a feel for how cold the water was going to be. Adding to my anxiety about the water temperature was the fact is was pouring down rain and about 50 degrees outside. Never the less I needed to test the water. Carrie being the trooper she is donned a rain coat and escorted me down to the park. I put on my wet suit, neoprene cap, ear plugs and swim cap and entered the water. The cold water felt like tiny little knives being driven into my bare feet. When I got about waist deep I decided to just dive in and get the shock of the cold over with. It took my breath away. As I swam out to the first buoy my face stung from the cold. I stopped by another swimmer and asked "...does the pain of the cold ever go away?" he said "give it about 10 minutes", I thought "ok, I can do 10 minutes". He was right, as I made my way around the swimmers' course I became accustom to the cold and started to relax and enjoy the swim. During the swim I also got a good taste of the salt water. After I completed the out and back course I decided I accomplished my mission and thought about Carrie who was standing in the cold rain.

     On race morning after setting up my transition area I boarded a bus for Pier 3 and a quick boat ride out to Alcatraz Island. Upon crossing the gangway I entered the belly of the beast. The boat wish filled with angst, excitement and nervous chatter. After some last minute instructions over the PA and The National Anthem I put on my goggles and surveyed the bay with a scattering safety boats, kayakers, a Coast Cutter and a helicopter.  At the sound of the starting horn the Pro athletes jumped off first followed by the age group athletes. 2000 athletes disembarked from The Belle in 6 minutes. To get an idea watch the video (video from 2010). For the swim you locate land marks to swim towards. The first sighting are two twin apartment buildings. As I started swimming for the buildings I noticed right away I'm not going to make it as the current is pulling me down stream towards the Golden Gate Bridge. At least the current is pulling me in the right direction. The next sighting is Fort Mason, again, I'm not going to make it there either. This goes on for all my land marks. The real trick is aim at land marks knowing you won't make it but swim hard so you don't miss the landing beach. If you miss the beach you'll be pick up by a boat because the next stop is the Pacific Ocean under the Golden Gate Bridge. Not an outcome I wanted. As I neared shore the current lessens and I can tell I'm going to hit the high side of the beach. This is a perfect spot, I nailed the swim. The most common question before and after swim is about sharks. The water is so cloudy you can only see about an arms length. The only thing I saw I was a big floating seaweed mat that I swam through. If there were sharks, seals or sea lions I didn't see any and I'm glad for that. I did the 1.5 mile swim in 34:12 my goal was 45 minutes. After the swim there is a mini transition area where I had a pair of shoes waiting. I took off my wet suit and ran a half mile to the real transition to get my bike.

     Off for the bike ride. The first 1 mile of the bike was dead flat. The course took us through some closed off roads through an old Army base guarded with 4 feet tall concrete pillars. Some guy passed me head down in the aero position he never looked up and never saw it coming and rode straight into one of those pillars. He did a superman flying move and rolled across the asphalt. Concrete pillar = 1, bike rider = 0. Not only was he missing some skin but he ended his day early by breaking his carbon fiber bike in two pieces. I stopped to see if he was ok, he was, I went back to racing. The hills around San Francisco proved to be very challenging. They were some of the steepest hills I've ever ridden. If you've been to San Francisco you know what I'm talking about. The ride was along the shore and in and out of Gold Gate Park it was beautiful.  I was enjoying the scenery and concerned less with racing. I chatted with several riders and had a rolling picnic.

     Out for the run, I knew it was going to be hard because the run  course covered some of the same ground as the ride. After a mile of flat it was up a long section of wooden stairs followed by a long steep asphalt path up to the Golden Gate bridge via one low bricked tunnel. The course then followed a trail along a ridge high above a beautiful sandy beach. The trail was only wide enough for two runners one going in each direction. It was tight. Then we started to descend down to the beach. At this point I didn't think it was all that beautiful. I found myself running in deep heavy sand for a mile in a single file line. Running on the beach is hard work and I was getting tired, I was only 3 miles into an 8 mile run. At the end of mile three I approached the dreaded and infamous "sand ladder" of Baker Beach. The sand ladder is a mixture of wooden and sand steps up to the top of a large sand dune. At the top of the sand dune is the beginning of another trail up a hill. At the top of the hill I had a fantastic view of Baker Beach and the Golden Gate Bridge. The course took us back into the woods and through several old military cannon installations. Then we followed the same trail back to the transition area and finishing line. Thankfully this part of the run was flat. I was happy to be running on flat ground again. As I came down the finishing shoot I heard my name announced over the PA and the entire race flashed before my eyes. After months of training and worrying about the swim the race was over. I finished the race Escape from Alcatraz in 3:19:45. I had a rough time goal of three hours. I could careless about the time it's the whole experience of this race that drew me in! I Escaped from Alcatraz!
     After the race Carrie and I spent a week in Sonoma and Napa valley a day at Point Reyes National Sea Shore and a day in Yosemite National Park.

Robert Mondavi Vineyard

Point Reyes National Sea Shore

Yosemite National Park

     Thanks to my mom who came from Florida to watch our kids for a week Carrie and I enjoyed a very relaxing week together. Some of the highlights I've already mentioned above but here are a few more. I gave Carrie a personal tour of Google's Mountain View Googleplex. We had the most outstanding lunch, well we mostly tasted the dessert tray. We rode around the campus on Google bikes. We drove up the coast of Northern CA. We had the best Italian food in North Beach. Toured the Golden Gate Bridge. Saw the Six Sisters of San Francisco. Crossed the Bay Bridge. Strolled along Fisherman's Wharf and drove into Haight Ashbury to see the Grateful Dead's house and the place were the "Summer of Love" took place. Drove on Lombard Street. Tour Sonoma and Napa Valley, we crossed from valley to valley over a very cool mountain road. And probably the highlight of the trip after the swim from Alcatraz was the beauty of Yosemite National Park!

     Thank you to all that made is trip possible especially my mom and Carrie. I love you two!