Successful Escape from Alcatraz, I did it!

Sarah Turnbull- Race # 297

I was really scared about this Tri, and I pushed myself to do it even though I wasn't really sure if I could.

Pre-Race, San Francisco in advance. Don't call it "Frisco"

RACE DAY

On race day my alarm went off at 330 am. Transition area was set up between 4-5am then you were shuttled to the pier to get on the boat to Alcatraz. The boat left at 630am.  The big jump was at 730am. It was my first pre-race meal with the new diet.

The energy and anxiety on the boat was contiguous.  Everyone was in full gear and even the repeaters were freaking out about the swim. There were people puking in the washrooms. You looked out of the boat on either side and you saw whitecaps and grey skies. The city seemed far away. It was hard not to get caught up in the whole thing.

 I tried to position myself as far away from the jump to be at the back and I hoped that would give me a look at a vantage point and prevent aggressive swimmers from landing on me. I concreted on my breathing for the 20 minutes before the anthem. I did my best to block out the chaos and mentally prepare myself for the jump and the shock of cold. I envisioned the cold like knives and swimming through it. Most of all I tried to stay calm and collected and keep my heartbeat low.

After the American anthem, they started the race and it was a wave of people jumping off the boat. It reminded me of a real life titanic.  I stuck to the far side and I watched a girl grab a pole and swing and jump out of the way. This is exactly what Stacy Shand had advised me to do. So I went to the pole and  swung.. and into the water I went. I was surprised by how cold it wasn't. 

SWIM START

The thoughts in my head were of relief, I wasn't dying and this was okay. I swam fast and furious to get away from the boat, this was mostly in a water polo head up sprint, with a group of swimmers.  After I was away from the boat and current I figured out where I was. I looked and was almost surprised to see the towers in front of me. Until the actual swim I had doubts about the siting. I sited the landmarks, and got my head in the water to get this done. 

 I swam and sited pretty effortlessly. At this point it was just about putting all the pieces together. My stroke was strong, I was with the group and I wasn't freezing.  It was a moment of bliss.. I was actually doing this! I really felt amazing to be there and live the moment. I stayed in my zone until the last 1/3.

 In the last 1/3 the current built up stronger and it was overwhelming. There were white caps. I saw swimmers clinging to kayaks in every direction. It was hard to move and breathe. I swallowed water once or twice. I coughed underwater. It was nasty. Then the worst possible thing happened. The current took my swim cap (just 1 of them) and my left earplug.  The cold crept in on my left side and I felt asymmetrical. My head was getting cold, which made my hands feel colder.

WATER CONDITIONS

I lost my groove but I could see the finish and the shore.

I was on route to make it to the actual line, but I followed the swimmers ahead and started to fight the current. I heard all the tips repeat in my head. It is better to overshoot the end and run to the line then fight the whitecaps. I made the choice to miss the line and not fight the water. The last 500m to the shore were the worst. I could see it but the cold in my one ear was terrible, I just wanted to cough.

Finally I made it to shore. I stood up and almost immediately fell down. It was dizzy and cold. I jumped over rocks with some male racers to get to the actual finish. I couldn't get my booties off. I was useless, my sneakers felt funny and I felt foggy.  We ran 1/2 mile in our wetsuits to the next transition. I couldn't get my leg out of the left side. A racer pulled it off for me. He told me to just enjoy and take my time.

I put on a long sleeve base layer and running tights over my Tri-suit, slowly got out of transition and was off to the bike.

The first couple miles of the bike were recovery from the swim. No one was pushing hard. Then the course began. Climb & Grind, then downhill. Up and down, up and down.  I do not have a comfort zone established with  downhills, especially with rough roads and turns. In the whole race I would say this was my biggest weakness. Plenty of racers passed me on the downhill. Surprisingly my climbing skills were par. I am very proud to say I grinded the whole course out and stayed on my bike the whole time. 

The most viscous hill was basically a vertical wall in opinion   75% of the racers were walking it. There was a crowd at the start (bottom) egging us on. I was the only girl and they were shouting, "you aren't going to let the girl show you up are you?" Well... Challenge excepted.. And that's all the encouragement I needed to get to the top.

That vertical was really the only time on the bike I gave 100%. I was so worried about what was to come I held myself back. Turns out the climbs were my strength and the downhills my weakness. During the bike we were given a tour of the city. Every bend had a new sight for the eyes. We went through golden gate park, past the coast, the cliffs, the homes, the oceans, and urban parks.  I ate exactly the recommended calories at the exact points the director had recommended and it seemed to give me the boast needed to forget the swim ever happened.

After the bike we went into transition, and this is the first time I have ever used a washroom on course, all the water caught up to me. Oh well. 

The run started off flat and I established my rhythm pretty much off the bat. My hamstrings were more strained because of all the climbing, that was a new race sensation to me. In the beginning a supporter said I had great form and that pleased me. The flat ended pretty quickly and we were going up stairs and ramps.  The run was what I would describe as an urban xterra course. It had us going up hills, paths, through trees, ramps etc. The run even went through this tunnel were you had to duck. It was incredibly scenic. 

We went through  bakers beach. The sand run wasn't as bad as I expected. I stayed to the harder wetter sand and kept quick steps on the balls of my feet. Once I miscalculated and a wave hit me. The sound of the ocean, and view of the coast were amazing. At the turn around I was hit with the most scenic postcard view. It was a gasp- worthy view. It was at this point of the race I finally started to get some momentum and drive. Better late than never I suppose. I passed some people on the sand and then it was unto the sand ladder. The sand ladder wasn't so bad. I took it slowly like they told me too but still passed almost everyone. After the sand ladder I was ready to go.. I took off my base layer shirt and left it at the water station. I knew there weren't any more scary things and I could finally move.  It's too bad I waited till the last 3 miles. Even though I was moving I never sprinted. In the last mile I was confused my km/m math and convinced myself that 2 miles were giant and too much to sprint. I didn't want to come so far to over exert at the end and fail. I should have pushed it.

The finish line! I was done. I had a supporter in the crowd, Enobong. It's so good to see a face at the end; somehow it makes it more meaningful.  At the finish they immediately gave me a Mylar silver sheet. They told me I was going to get really cold and I had to put it on to prevent illness. I wasn't cold but Enobong was so she got the blanket until the coldness hit me, which it did.

Friends and Family give me the strength and support to do the impossible. 

Overall the race was an amazing experience.  I loved it and I would do it again even with the same conditions. I swam from Alcatraz in March in the worst conditions the escape race ever had. This race is typically in June.  It is doubtful they will ever have it in March again because of all the hypothermia, pulled swimmers. 

The number of pulled swimmers was more than triple this year.  The race started out with over 2000 participants. 1580, people finished the race.

A man from Texas in his 40s suffered a heart attack and died immediately after the jump. So sad. My thoughts and condolences go to his family. It is a reminder on how important it is to be prepared for extreme sport, mentally, physically and with the right tools/gear.

Staying warm

Other than the last part of the swim the temperature wasn't a huge deal to me. Every other racer I have spoken to this is not the case. I was more prepared than anyone for the weather. My pre-occupation of being warm meant I knew all the tricks. Firstly I wore a toque until the last possible moment in the morning. This was to keep the warmth as long as I could. I boiled hot water and filled my water bottles with heed and light protein. In the morning, I drank tea (with electrolytes) to heat myself from the inside out.

For swimming gear, I had booties, wet suit, swimming heat cap, 2 swim caps, earplugs and googles. The earplugs are the most important things. Keeping the icy water out of your cannel prevents brain freeze. Brain freeze= pain.  My googles were triathlon style full googles that cover a large portion of your face, way more than regular googles.

I moisturized every exposed piece of my body, with a SPF moisturizer to create a seal. On top of that I body glided everything including between my fingers and behind my ears and my face.

I didn't end up using Vaseline because it ruins wetsuits.

On top of that I stopped wearing gloves and neck warmer in my winter runs to prepare my body to working out cold.

For the bike and run, I put my running base layers on top of my tri suit. I only saw one or two other people wearing pants. The icebreaker last year taught me how cold and wind can be on a bike. I did not want a repeat.  I saw plenty of bike jackets but I wanted tight warmth, and thought my winter running gear was a better choice, and it was!