Alcatraz RR

Source: Chris Lieto

What a beautiful day it was in San Francisco.  One of the best days I have ever seen.  Sunny, Calm, and the smoothest water ever.  Perfect for an Escape from Alcatraz.  I have been training long and hard for Ironman Coeur d' Alene just 3 weeks away.  So I had no expectations on Alcatraz, but always want to go out and race as hard as I can. 

7:15 am we headed out on the huge boat, which held all the competitors.  Toured the bay for a while and finally got set up for an 8:00am start just off the shore from Alcatraz.  All the pros where lined up straight across the side of the boat.  The gun went off and we all dove into the chilly water. The swim started out fast and spread out quickly.  Swimming in the bay with all the currents and chop make it hard to follow and hold your line, but I did the best I could on the day and came out about 45 seconds down from the 2 leaders Craig Walton and Simon Lessing.

A little stiff from the cold water I tried to put on my running shoes for the transition run, which is almost a half-mile long.  It took me what felt like forever to get them on from being cold and wet.  But off I went running to T1 to get on my bike and try and catch up.  Riding through the Golden Gate area is awesome, but very challenging with all the short steep climbs.  My legs were screaming at me for all the training I did the week earlier.  Up and down through the hills leading to Ocean Beach, then up through Golden Gate Park and back again.  I was able to ride well catching many of those ahead of me, but was unable to catch the front-runners. 

Out on the run I was feeling ok except for my hip flexor that has been nagging me for the last week.  It started to flair up and slowed me down to where I felt like I need to drop out of the race.  Disappointing, but necessary for the big picture of my 2 Ironmans coming up.  I am getting physical therapy on my hip and lots of massage, and I should be as good as new in a week. 

Escape From Alcatraz is always an exciting race, and I am already looking forward to next year where I can focus on it more. 

Thanks for your support and I will see you at the next one.  Ironman Coeur d' Alene.

Sincerely,

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