Escape from Alcatraz 2017 Race Report: No ESCAPE! (Swim)

I have had this race on my bucket list for a while now and was so excited when I got the notification email that I had been chosen from the lottery system they have.  You have to put in for this race WAY in advance as it sells out every year.  I wanted to do this one so bad because everything about this race just seemed EPIC to me!
In the morning you get barged out to the Alcatraz island and jump into the icy cold shark infested waters of San Fransisco Bay.  You have to battle the crossing currents and make sure to sight well so you don't end up under the bridge.  Once you get to shore you have a 1/2 mile run to transition where you jump on your bike and cycle the humongous hills of San Fransisco.  The run takes you out along the beach and right under the Golden Gate Bridge.  There is a 400 step sand ladder you have to climb once you hit the Pacific Ocean and start heading back.  You see!  All of it sounds AWESOME!!!

 This year was my year to do this race!  I got plane tickets for me and Rod well in advance and arranged our accommodations. Our Auto Repair shop (RAD) has been very busy this year (YAY!) and we are shorthanded (BOO) so Rod decided it would be best for him to stay home.  I asked my girlfriend Brenda if she would join me and she was all in!  GIRL TRIP!!!! 

Thankfully I have a few friends who have already done it so they had offered me some very helpful advice!  I arranged an airbnb room right by transition so I didn't have to worry about traffic. Brenda and I couldn't have picked a better location.  We were literally right next to everything!  We were close to transition and packet pickup but we were also really close to some really cool restaurants and shops.  I swear we couldn't find a bad restaurant and the views were spectacular.  We were able to walk everywhere and it made for a nice stress free stay.

 Race morning!  It was pretty chilly in the morning and they were expecting winds to start picking up.  We needed to be to out of transition early and shuttles were leaving from 4:30am- 6am to get everyone out to the barge on-time.  You are able to drop a bag before you get on the barge but they ask you not to bring anything onto the barge with you.  So we were all wet-suited up before we climbed aboard so we could stay warm. 

We were all on the barge by 6:30am and the "JUMP" was scheduled at 7:30.  I found a couple of my friends, Cindy and Jim, and I hung out on the floor just chit chatting with them.  It was pretty funny looking around the room with everyone in wetsuits, caps, and googles just hanging out on the floor on the barge. After about 30 min the captain came over the loud speaker and announced that there was a "small craft warning" and the kayakers and paddleboard support were not safe and therefor we were not safe.  SWIM CANCELED!  WHAT???  Oh my gosh.  This is what we came out here for!  How can you do Escape from Alcatraz without actually escaping from Alcatraz!?  Oh man.  We were all disappointed.  It was now going to be a time trial bike start and we were to head back to the shuttles.  I have never seen so many heads hung low.  Luckily I was with a group of friends and I think we all just wanted to keep each other positive and discuss how we will just have to come back next year and do it again!  It seemed like forever as they unloaded us from the barge and waiting for the shuttles.
Once we got back to transition things were crazy.  People were wanting to bail and go home.  I don't get that? You came all this way and yeah it is disappointing but we are triathletes!  We do more then one sport!  We still had a bike and run to do.  They were not allowing bikes out of transition so people were hopping the fence and making a run for it.  Crazy... Anyways with a time trial start they started with the pros number 1 and let everyone go in numerical order.  I was number 646... OYE!  I feel really bad for number 2000! It seemed like we were stuck in transition all day!  Finally my time had come and I was off on my bike!
Those of you who know me know this is my favorite part of a TRI! I LOVE to ride my bike!  This course was literally designed for me.  Short and STEEP swooping hills and balls out descents!  I was in heaven.  This had been just what I needed to get me right back into race mode. The views on the bike course were amazing.  I loved every minute of it.  It is a shame that it is only 18 miles!  I would have loved the bike to be longer. On to the run!
The first 2 miles of the run are pretty flat and boring.  You are running along the shore of the Bay but you have already seen those views many times by this point and you are just kind of trudging along anticipating what is yet to come. Once you get closer to the Bridge you climb a big series of stairs up to the tunnel that takes you under the bridge.  There was a lot of pretty foliage around the stairs so it gave you something to look at least while you were doing your extended bleacher climb. Once you get to the top the view is breathtaking!  There you are right at eye level with the Golden Gate bridge and you can see past the bay all the way to the Pacific Ocean.  I so wish I had my camera with me for this view.  I seriously would have stopped and taken a picture.  Once you run past the bridge you have a pretty steady climb for about 2 miles until you start dropping down into the beach.  You hit the beach and run in the soft sand all the way to the infamous "Sand Ladder"...

HA!  It was fine.  Not that big of a deal.  Kind of cool actually.  I didn't mind it at all.  Once you hit the top of the ladder you have a nice smooth decent for about 3 miles back to the Bay and onto the FINISH LINE!

There at the finish line was my friend Brenda cheering me on with a full Parka complete with hood all the way closed covering her face!  LOL!  I guess it was cold and windy out there ;).  I wish I had a picture of her.  It was pretty hilarious seeing her all bundled up as I am running around in a tanktop and shorts. Bless her heart it was so nice to have someone come with me for this amazing day.  Yes it was disappointing not to swim but I seriously think I smiled through the whole race.  Later talking to racers they said it was cold and windy on the course but honestly the weather never even crossed my mind while I was out there.  That is how much I had enjoyed this race.  I was totally zoned into it and NOTHING got in my head or way! The race director sent out an email letting us know that those who competed in this years race are guaranteed entry to next years or 2018's. I am so glad I have an excuse to do it again!