sirious94

I did Escape today. So i guess here is my report.

Swim(1.5mi):
Swim was so much better than last year. The start had the usual "I hope no one jumps on me" craziness that Alcatraz always does. It was only choppy for a small section. The swim was with the current, and I took home a sub 30min 1.5 mi time.

Bike(18mi):
As always the course was hilly. The road at the start and end was pretty rough because the road is being fixed. They took off most of the machinery for today, and that was good. Averaged 17.8 mi/hr for a split of just over an hour. T2 went soothly except I forgot to take off my helmet and had to run half of the transition area back to put it with my stuff.

Run(8mi):
Hilly once again. They had aid stations every mile this year which was nice. Sand is annoying to run on. I did have a thought on the sand ladder though. They were talking about how some of the sand has covered up the ladder. I thought because since it is the equinox sand ladder, the least they could have done is come up on a Saturday with brooms and uncover it. Oh well. I ran under 9:30 pace for a time of about 1:15 on the run.

Final time was under 2:55 which is a big improvement from last year (3:20) After the race though there were some problems. Last year I finished, hung around a bit, went to bag pickup, asked for my bags and they brought it to me. This year, not so easy. At first they let athletes into bag pickup, There was little order to the bags, and one of the trucks that carried the bags was late or something. Then they kicked everyone out of bag pickup, and went back to last years system, but there was such a backup, the volunteers could not keep up with getting everyone their bags quickly. I finally got my bags right before they started age group awards. I am sure they will fix this for next year, I think it was the truck issue because usually it is a lot more organized.

caelric

The poor organization in the bag pickup probably had something to do with it not being TriCal that were the race organizers/directors this year, but a new group instead. There was some kind of falling out last year between TriCal and whoever owns the Escape from Alcatraz race.

EjustE

Thanks for this race report. I always wanted to try that race, but living on the other side of the US, the logi$tic$ have always seemed a tad too much How was the swim? It is wetsuit weather swim or is the water temp ok enough to do without?

caelric

I did Alcatraz last year. The water is definitely not warm enough for no wetsuit. There are always a few brave folks who go without, but by a few, I mean 3-4. The water is cold. high 50's. Nor eason to go without a wetsuit.

sirious94

yeah wetsuit is definitely recommended, I have done swims in the bay without a wetsuit, and it's not that bad, but then I am not worrying about getting on the bike after the swim. Really the reason why most people wear wetsuits in our sport is because they are legal, they lower your drag, and they save energy by keeping you warmer. you can go without, but you will perform much better with.

EjustE

I just find wetsuits a bit of a nuisance (not to mention a T1 waste of time). I guess it is a matter of what I am used to. The one time I tried to swim with one I felt like I was swiming with a couple of live vests all over me. So there is no mandate for wetsuits there? Some races do mandate them if the water temp is below a certain point.

sirious94

No i have never heard of one, but your wetsuit problem is a bit weird, did you make adjust it correctly? Wetsuits usually feel terrible until you pull up the legs and arms and torso to give your shoulders a bit of room, then unless the water is above 70 you should perform better in one.

benajah

I cannot imagine swimming in the bay without a wetsuit, for that matter any California water north of Santa Barbara unless you are just trying to prove how tough you are. Several friends of mine have gotten hypothermia at Escape from Alcatraz, wearing a wetsuit.