Escape from Alcatraz race report – David Hunter
San Francisco, 12 June 2016.
I raced this iconic event last weekend.
Now in its 36th year, the race entry usually has been well over subscribed. On a whim, I put my name on the waiting list in early March and by late March I had been offered a spot! There had been some backlash in the US tri community of the price increase from U$425 to U$750. It is a very expensive race, I know, but it was a race I keenly wanted to do.
My 10 week training plan under Dan Benton went smoothly except in about week six with strained calves after 30 minutes of repeats on the Pinnacle lookout stairs. I needed to put some distance into my legs over the 10 weeks after only racing our races and Interclub through the summer. Thanks to Greg and Kate Thornton who spotted me for a Lake Canobolas swim in mid May.
Escape from Alcatraz is a modified Olympic distance – 2.4km swim, 29km bike, 12km run. In summary, I did 3:19 which put me 97th of 240 in my 40-44 age group (Swim 115th, Ride 204th, Run 15th).
Swim – 2.4km – 51:01
A ferry takes 45 mins to take the 1,800 triathletes from Pier 3 out to Alcatraz, and in 7 minutes, all of us have jumped off the boat for the 2.4km swim to shore. The boat ride was a rising vibe of energy and restlessness as we got closer to the 7:30am start time. The US anthem played and then the pros were off:
It gets exciting now as age groupers are moments away from show time. All racers older than 40 travel on the 1st floor of the boat. Once the ground floor deck is cleared of triathletes, the 40+ come down the stairs and are corralled into groups. I remember a female official ordered us to move and no stopping as we streamed through onto boat’s edge. While the pros dive in, age groupers are told to jump and land feet first. I checked momentarily I wouldn’t land on someone, then took the 2 metre leap of faith. I braced for a freeze and pleasantly surprised I could breathe normally when I bobbed in the water. Water temp was 15-16 degrees, warmer than the normal 13 degrees. Beside wetsuit, I had neoprene cap and booties. No one landed on me which was a good sign and I started my swim. This picture is from the boat with the shore in the distance.
After a few minutes I did a spot of backstroke to admire the boat and Alcatraz, then returned to freestyle. There are sighting tactics required for the swim with the tip being to use a number of tall landmarks on the shore. This is so you don’t attempt a straight line swim to the exit beach otherwise the currents can pull you off course and you head out into the Pacific Ocean. There were two foot waves in the middle of the bay where the wind had picked up and at one point I could not see a single other swimmer. These are the moments you realise how unique this is. Unfortunately my Garmin didn’t capture my swim course but I am sure I ended up with too conservative a line to get across the bay. In ensuring I did not go too far right (and swept out under the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Pacific), I had gone too far left and almost got washed up onto the rocks of the breakwall in front of one of the yacht clubs. I was still a good 400m left of the intended swim exit. I had not used the current as a friend (like Dubbo).
I came out in 51 mins, a little slower than planned but a little comforted when the announcer in T1 said the pros were 5 mins slower than last year due to the conditions in the bay (ie more chop, less friendly current). Just on the pros, three of the Rio bound US Olympic team raced. Joe Maloy was male winner, Ben Kanute was 3rd male and Katie Zafares was 2nd in the females behind Brit Holly Lawrance.
T1 – 800m – 7:12
From the beach there’s an 800m run up to T1. I enjoyed feeling in my hands and toes (you don’t always get this in Orange) and decided not to wear anything over my Piranhas tri suit. The possible vagaries of the San Francisco weather were not out today and I could now get onto the ride in a temperature of about 19 degrees.
Ride – 29km – 1:20:44
This is a technical, hilly, one lap out and back bike course which can be done on road or time trial bike. I only have a TT bike so an easy decision.
I rode the course on Friday and enjoyed stunning scenery with the Golden Gate Bridge as a backdrop. This was followed by residential, rugged coastline, freeway and national park. Roads are mostly in good condition. I had also ‘ridden’ the course a few times in Benton’s ‘Shed of Sorrow’ on the Computrainer in the lead up. Here I am at about mile 2:
All was going well until the 20km mark when I got my first flat in a race. I do not race with a puncture kit and I had a brief vision of doing a Robbo^. I came across a road marshall but she didn’t have a radio to seek assistance. This is where I got lucky – I was in one of only two residential sections and two seated spectators came over and being cyclists they understood my predicament. They went up to their respective units and came back down, one with pump and one with patch. The patch didn’t work, so one of the two spectators went back up to his unit and came back and gave me a tube. The valve was just long enough to fit the race wheel. He was pleased to ‘pay it forward’ and I will do the same in future after their great help. I checked the Garmin later and it cost me 21 mins. But I was back in the saddle and I was going to Escape!
^Many Piranhas would know of member James Robson’s bike leg finish to Ironman Port Macquarie last month with bike on shoulder for the last two kms.
T2 – 1:59
Run – 12.2km – 58:36
This is a one lap out and back course and the temperature was perfect at about 20 degrees. You have some headwind running out for the first few kms and a friendly tailwind for the last few. It is also hilly and consists at different points of gravel, asphalt, steps, mountain trail and sand. Another unique leg, and some parts are so narrow you cannot overtake. One of the features is the ‘Sand Ladder’ – this photo taken a couple of days before:
It is 400 steps from the beach back to the road and even the pros don’t run all of it. This is a side on view of the sand ladder on race day:
I used the parts of the course where you couldn’t overtake to recover, getting ready for the next interval. ‘How bad do you want it?‘ was the book I’d been reading in the lead up, thanks to a triathlete friend recommendation, and was in my mind particularly for the last 3 kms. The run was my best leg and I had the 15th fastest run split in my 40-44 age group.
Overall
I finished with 3:19 which was a bit off my goal to finish in the top 10% of my age group at roughly 3 hours (based on results in previous years). I might have made that if not for the flat, though my run surely had benefited from an enforced 21 min recovery. But I wasn’t going to get into ‘what might have been’ and instead reflected on a terrific experience. It is an iconic event and for good reason. Each leg is unique, which then combined with the Golden Gate Bridge as your backdrop, makes it an amazing life, let alone triathlon, experience.