I woke up Saturday morning, showered and got ready for my breakfast of champions-DON’T JUDGE-we all have our pre-race superstitions and schedules, I headed to McDonald’s for a delicious coke. Let’s be honest, I wasn’t planning on winning the race, I can indulge!!
The weather was amazingly warmer than usual for this time of year and it felt absolutely amazing! Packet pick up and transition set up started at 11 so I wanted to get there a little early. I hopped on my rental bike from Sports Basement and headed toward Escape from Alcatraz. I was surprised when I got there early that there was already a pretty hefty line that had already formed. I jumped in line and started my road to Alcatraz!
I want to say right now that the Alcatraz team and the volunteers were amazing! The line went smooth and quick, I was pleasantly surprised. We started with sign in, body marking station, packet pick up, goodie bag pickup and ended in the official tent merch shop. There was SOOO much to pick from, I kept going back! One of my fav tee’s I found out Francisco was spelled wrong-Big vendor fail!!! I got it anyway!!
Another one of my favorite things? My name on the shirt and poster!!!
I found a spot on the lawn and hung out for the mandatory participant meeting. It was short and sweet, a little hard to hear but I felt pretty good about the schedule, thanks to the night before meeting.
I knew one thing-DON’T MISS THE BUS OR THE BOAT or you are out of luck. I grabbed my goodies and headed back to the hotel to drop everything off. I decided to venture out again and check out the pier. I roamed around just taking everything in, looking for trinkets for the kids, eating some lunch and just enjoying the amazing weather.
I went back to the hotel early with my usual pre-race meal-Chipotle and settled in for the night. I laid all my gear out and made sure I had everything I needed for the next day. I triple checked my alarm, asked for a wake up call, called the later taters to say good night and got tucked in for the next day-race day!!
I woke up with plenty of time, with tons of butterflies in my stomach. I got my bag, jumped on my bike and headed to the shuttle bus. I zoned out until I got on the boat. When I put on my wetsuit I realized I didn’t pack it right. It had stuck together and I had tears in it-oops! It was not the smartest move on my part but what is done is done so I thought to myself, “one less thing to pack for home”(A travel game I play, maybe I will make a separate post on that!). I got myself situated on the upper deck (the oldies on the 2nd floor) and met some great people on the ride to “The Rock”.
Once we arrived the sheer terror started. I decided I didn’t really want to swim but remembered in the meeting, “the boat is a ONE WAY ride!!!”. I took my time getting to the jump spot. I was a little scared I would get shoved in so I waited inside the boat until I felt I could jump. I walked slowly to the side of the boat, paused for about 15 seconds and jumped! It was such a strange feeling. I was under water probably 5-10 seconds working my way to the surface, then I slowly started to swim, trying to get acclimated to where I was, where I was supposed to go and how cold the water was. I kept turning around looking at the boat but I soon realized if I didn’t start swimming and quit looking back I was never going to make it AND I was going to exhaust myself. So off I went. I felt fairly safe because there were people consistently on either side of me and I could see the jet skis in the distance. I did hear someone calling for help and saw the jet ski speed toward them. That made me feel good too that they were so attentive. I did freak out at one point when I saw how far land was and if a jet ski would have been closer I would have yelled for them to come get me. I bucked up and kept swimming. I did loose sight of my landmarks and once I realized it was too late, I missed my mark. But I was so close to the beach!!!!
I made it, I made it!!! I was so ecstatic that I swam from Alcatraz! I wasn’t even thinking about the rest of the race, THIS part was my whale so I SOOOO happy! I made it, I really did it!
I was further down on the beach than I expected so I had a walk to get to the timing point.
Part 2: The bike
I got to the transition area, took off my wet gear and got my bike gear situated. I was off like no big deal. Wrong thinking!!!
I felt good on my rental bike, I had been on it the day before so I knew the gears and that the brakes were touchy. What I wasn’t expecting were the hills, which I realize it is SF but I just figured how bad could it be? I was pedaling away feeling pretty good when I made it up a hill a spectator yelled, “good luck!” and I wondered why he was saying that at the top of the hill. I quickly realized what he meant when I turned the corner to instant uphill. It was rough, people were walking their bikes up the hill. I took everything I had and just kept pedaling. Soon I was on my way back to the transition area for my final leg.
Part 3: The Run
I got of the bike in transition and got ready for the run. I felt pretty good, I wasn’t super tired and knew I had 8 miles to run and then I was done, I got this!!! I was at a good pace when I hit mile 2 and decided to look up and take in the scenery. I was looking right up at the Golden Gate Bridge and oops!! lost my footing and slipped off the sidewalk. A spectator came over and helped me up, I brushed myself off and went on my way. After that I sort of lost my mojo but I kept going.
The beach was a bear, the sand was super soft and hard to keep your footing. Next step: the sand ladder: I had no idea what to expect but knew it was tough. I decided to just keep pace with the guy in front of me, if he sped up I did, he slowed I did. I usually don’t do this in races but I was afraid I wouldn’t make it if I didn’t have some sort of plan. The hard work paid off we made it to the top and just kept going! I was finally working my way back, when I somehow made a weird turn and got off course…don’t ask me how I am still not sure!!! So I lost some time but was finally on my way back to finish Alcatraz!!!
After grabbing my bag I went to the first aid station and got my knee cleaned up from my scenery fall. Then grabbed some food and sat down to just take it all in. I was sort of numb, I couldn’t believe I had done it. I have thought about this race for 15+ years and I just finished it.
I had one last stop to make while I was in San Francisco, THE ROCK. I did the tour the next morning. As I stood out on one of the out door viewing area looking out at the beach, I still couldn’t believe the day before I was in that water swimming. It is a memory I will always love!!!
I escaped Alcatraz!!!
The Later Tater Momma 