I Escaped!

I made it!

The race was amazing! I got to San Francisco early, got all my stuff squared away and hopped on the bus to the boat, the San Francisco Belle, an old Mississippi river boat. As they took us out to The Rock, I looked back at the city, watching the distance I would have to swim back grow, then forward to Alcatraz, and then finally onto the Golden Gate Bridge, picturesque with a cloud obscuring the top of its towers.

We got to the starting point and watched the professionals eagerly await the start. In they went, already angling for the seconds that would separate them in just over two hours. Next was my wave. I stayed toward the back so I would stay out of the faster swimmers' way and also to have a group in front of me to help guide me back to shore. When my turn came, I took a deep breath, held my goggles, and jumped. The water was a cold shock, but I had to get moving, lest someone else jump on top of me. Fortunately, the wetsuit, SCUBA booties and neoprene swim cap worked wonderfully, and soon I was no longer feeling cold.

I quickly realized that I was not in very good swimming shape. My shoulders were tiring quickly, and I knew that I would have to take things slow to keep from tiring myself out too quickly. I switched between a freestyle stroke and a side stroke to keep my muscles fresh. As I swam, I started to notice the Golden Gate Bridge fading into the fog. Soon, San Francisco started looking hazy, as did Alcatraz Island. Not long after, the bridge disappeared entirely, its periodic fog horn the only evidence of it at all. Then went downtown, then the Marina, then Alcatraz, and finally the [Cliff House](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=san+francisco,+ca&ll=37.802473,-122.447688&spn=0.001886,0.002639&t=h&om=1">Palace of Fine Arts, the dome of which I was using as my sighting target. Fortunately, there was always a bit of coast visible, and the crowd of swimmers, which had initially dispersed over a wide area, had started to come together again to point the way to the exit.

Finally, I saw the red, inflatable arch that marked the swim exit. It was at this moment that I first doubted my ability to finish this swim myself. I'm not sure why, it didn't really look that far away, but with most of my frame of reference obscured by fog, it was hard to tell how much longer it was going to take me to get there, and I found that very unnerving. Fortunately, another swimmer, a little older by the color of her cap, looked over and gave some words of encouragement. "You ok?" "Yeah, just a little tired, and a little too much saltwater in my diet." "Yeah, me too, but we're almost there." I smiled, put my head down, and swam. When I next looked up, I was much closer, just one more push. Head down again I made one last sprint. Pretty soon I was seeing people around me standing in the water, then I saw it below me, sand.

I trudged out of the water, up the steps, and into the mini-transition area. Because of the currents, we had to swim past the real transition area, then switch into running shoes and run a half mile back to the real transition area where our bikes sat waiting for the hilly, 18 mile ride.

The bike ride was far less dramatic. Sure, it was very, very hilly, but I felt strong on the bike, stronger than I ever have before in a race, most likely due to my daily biking here at school. The course mostly followed the coast, providing some gorgeous views from clifftops overlooking the beaches and rocks below. We passed the <a href="http://www.cliffhouse.com/), then onto the Pacific Coast Highway, and finally into Golden Gate Park, where we made the turn around. My favorite part was an opening in the trees at the peak of a hill, which looked out onto two rocks in the ocean below, while the fog blew visibly over our heads.

The run followed the bike course, except for the last half mile before and after the turn around, which took us down to the beach. To get back up to the hills, we had to use a particularly sadistic path known as the "Sand Ladder". The Sand Ladder is a hill made of fine beach sand, with 400 4-6 inch diameter logs spaced 1-2 feet apart forming "steps" to the top. The reason I put steps in quotation marks is because they don't actually form a nice step, it's more of a sinkhole you can step into bordered by two round logs which you can only get the ball of your foot onto. Either way, it sucks all the energy out of your legs.

I think I've rambled enough about the race, but I have to remark again about just how beautiful the course is. I highly recommend everyone sign up for the lottery and try and get into this triathlon. It is, so far, the best organized race, the best course, and the most incredible feeling of satisfaction upon finishing of any race, triathlon or otherwise, that I've ever done. As always, let me know if you are interested, because I will definately be signing up for it again, and even if I don't get in, I'd love to come watch my friends do it.

Posted June 6, 2006