Escape Report 2011
I rode the bicycle leg of the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon on Sunday, June 6. I am still rehabbing from my hip injury (2.5 months of absolutely nothing from February through May). I have focused on building enough endurance to finish this event. I knew that I would not be able to hammer this but I wanted to do well for my team mates
The Short Story:
My goals for this race were as follows in order of priority
1 - To not re-injure myself
2 - To finish
3 - To not stop
You know what's better than having an unexpectedly good result? Perfectly executing your race plan, knowing exactly where your body is and what you can do at any given time.
Goal time 1:45:00
Split: 1:44:51
How dope is that?!
The Long Story:
Saturday was packet pickup. I went out to San Francisco to soak up the atmosphere at Marina Green. It was still sprinkling on and off at 4 in the afternoon. I was nervous because while I ride well in the rain I can't control what other people do. 2000 squirrely cyclists do not a safe race make.
Sunday I rolled out of bed at 5, had my oatmeal loaded up my bike and drove out to the City. This is my second year at this event, so I knew exactly where to park. I had scouted my transition and proceeded to rack my bike and hang out with my fellow relayers. The cyclists and runners had to wait in transition the entire time but some thoughtful soul and made sure we had three porta-potties close to us in transition (don't worry, they were pristine!) It was already warm by 7 am. No rain, light wind. Ads we watched the swim start across the bay waters they were glassy and clam. Conditions that had promised to be terrible turned out to be perfect!
I waited with my bike. I planned on a swim leg of between 30 and 45 minutes. My swimmer was out of the water is 30 and then took about 5 minutes to make the half mile run to transition. For all that I was just starting the race day energy caught me up. I made my way to the mount line and was chanting to myself "ride your way." Instead of racing near people of my own ability level I was surrounded by the kind of athletes that can bust out a 30 minute Alcatraz crossing. I spent the whole 18 miles being passed! At first it was insane! People racing for age group podiums were slamming by me, passing me on every side, weaving through the crowds of cyclists on the hills. This was the most dangerous bike ride I have ever been on and I felt it. Descending was intense. I am not entirely confident of my handling skills and of the ability to brake sufficiently because I lack hand strength. I couldn't take turns as fast as I might have because at any given time someone with a time goal was going to try and cut inside of me.
I made myself small, stayed to the right and stuck to the plan. I would not push at all. In order to not hurt myself and make the entire ride I needed to go out very conservatively. On the hills I stuck to my granny gear. I waved to lots of little kids, volunteers and police officers on the course. I looked at the jaw-droppingly beautiful views the course afforded. Going down the hill from the VA to Golden Gate Park was very scary. It is a very steep block (like, I didn't know if I could stop the bike steep) followed by a ninety degree left, a ninety degree right and a twisting downhill with only one lane. I told myself that I would ride my way, my speed, my comfort level. And I did. My reward as I was finally comfortable enough to stop braking and let my speed build was making my first pass of the day. I don't climb quickly, but my bike descends like a fiend!
In Golden Gate Park I took in a gel and used my first bike aid station. The volunteers were actually holding out bottles for us so you didn't have to stop. You grabbed the bottle, took a swig and if wanted just threw it to the ground where a volunteer picked it up for recycling/reuse. As they did last year, the support on this course was phenomenal. Only bad spot, no bathrooms on the bike course. Local bonus: knowing where the fluch toilets are in Golden Gate Park. I did make a short bathroom stop at mile 10. I knew that the hard part was coming. I had to climb back up past the Cliff House to the VA. There was one steep block. So steep I felt the front tire start to lose traction. I cried this out and by now I was with riders of a similar ability to myself. Instead of rude, aggro dudes I was in the bosom of friendly people who do triathlon because they love it. Five or six of us started encouraging each other up the hell block. It was surprisingly easy. After that I was home free. I knew nothing left on the course could stop me.
I climbed back up Lincoln and then made our way back to Marina Green. Becuase I didn't have to run after the race, when we hit the flat right by Sports Basement I got into the drops and started to put on as much speed as I could. I really started to feel how under-trained I was. I could climb but I couldn't maintain a high heart rate for very long. Still, I pushed to the transition and then jog/walked to my runner. As I checked my cycle computer I saw that I had perfectly hit my target time. I felt fantastic. A little tired and definitely ready for the beer and Mexican food that was waiting in the corporate tent. I walked over and hung out with my swimmer and the rest of my team-mates (my company sent 12 relay teams to the Escape this year!). As I ate and rested I felt better and better. I waited and cheered for the slower finishers. If I was doing the whole race, I would be a 5 hour finisher, so I was cheering for my people!
After a long day at the races I sauntered home. I vegged out for the rest of the day and was quite tired all day on Monday. In retrospect, this is going to be a peak race memory for me. I made a plan (including cleaning and lubing my chain the day before) I stuck to it in the face of tons of adrenaline and race day craziness and I achieved the result I knew my body had to give me.
They should all be this good!
The Short Story:
My goals for this race were as follows in order of priority
1 - To not re-injure myself
2 - To finish
3 - To not stop
You know what's better than having an unexpectedly good result? Perfectly executing your race plan, knowing exactly where your body is and what you can do at any given time.
Goal time 1:45:00
Split: 1:44:51
How dope is that?!
The Long Story:
Saturday was packet pickup. I went out to San Francisco to soak up the atmosphere at Marina Green. It was still sprinkling on and off at 4 in the afternoon. I was nervous because while I ride well in the rain I can't control what other people do. 2000 squirrely cyclists do not a safe race make.
Sunday I rolled out of bed at 5, had my oatmeal loaded up my bike and drove out to the City. This is my second year at this event, so I knew exactly where to park. I had scouted my transition and proceeded to rack my bike and hang out with my fellow relayers. The cyclists and runners had to wait in transition the entire time but some thoughtful soul and made sure we had three porta-potties close to us in transition (don't worry, they were pristine!) It was already warm by 7 am. No rain, light wind. Ads we watched the swim start across the bay waters they were glassy and clam. Conditions that had promised to be terrible turned out to be perfect!
I waited with my bike. I planned on a swim leg of between 30 and 45 minutes. My swimmer was out of the water is 30 and then took about 5 minutes to make the half mile run to transition. For all that I was just starting the race day energy caught me up. I made my way to the mount line and was chanting to myself "ride your way." Instead of racing near people of my own ability level I was surrounded by the kind of athletes that can bust out a 30 minute Alcatraz crossing. I spent the whole 18 miles being passed! At first it was insane! People racing for age group podiums were slamming by me, passing me on every side, weaving through the crowds of cyclists on the hills. This was the most dangerous bike ride I have ever been on and I felt it. Descending was intense. I am not entirely confident of my handling skills and of the ability to brake sufficiently because I lack hand strength. I couldn't take turns as fast as I might have because at any given time someone with a time goal was going to try and cut inside of me.
I made myself small, stayed to the right and stuck to the plan. I would not push at all. In order to not hurt myself and make the entire ride I needed to go out very conservatively. On the hills I stuck to my granny gear. I waved to lots of little kids, volunteers and police officers on the course. I looked at the jaw-droppingly beautiful views the course afforded. Going down the hill from the VA to Golden Gate Park was very scary. It is a very steep block (like, I didn't know if I could stop the bike steep) followed by a ninety degree left, a ninety degree right and a twisting downhill with only one lane. I told myself that I would ride my way, my speed, my comfort level. And I did. My reward as I was finally comfortable enough to stop braking and let my speed build was making my first pass of the day. I don't climb quickly, but my bike descends like a fiend!
In Golden Gate Park I took in a gel and used my first bike aid station. The volunteers were actually holding out bottles for us so you didn't have to stop. You grabbed the bottle, took a swig and if wanted just threw it to the ground where a volunteer picked it up for recycling/reuse. As they did last year, the support on this course was phenomenal. Only bad spot, no bathrooms on the bike course. Local bonus: knowing where the fluch toilets are in Golden Gate Park. I did make a short bathroom stop at mile 10. I knew that the hard part was coming. I had to climb back up past the Cliff House to the VA. There was one steep block. So steep I felt the front tire start to lose traction. I cried this out and by now I was with riders of a similar ability to myself. Instead of rude, aggro dudes I was in the bosom of friendly people who do triathlon because they love it. Five or six of us started encouraging each other up the hell block. It was surprisingly easy. After that I was home free. I knew nothing left on the course could stop me.
I climbed back up Lincoln and then made our way back to Marina Green. Becuase I didn't have to run after the race, when we hit the flat right by Sports Basement I got into the drops and started to put on as much speed as I could. I really started to feel how under-trained I was. I could climb but I couldn't maintain a high heart rate for very long. Still, I pushed to the transition and then jog/walked to my runner. As I checked my cycle computer I saw that I had perfectly hit my target time. I felt fantastic. A little tired and definitely ready for the beer and Mexican food that was waiting in the corporate tent. I walked over and hung out with my swimmer and the rest of my team-mates (my company sent 12 relay teams to the Escape this year!). As I ate and rested I felt better and better. I waited and cheered for the slower finishers. If I was doing the whole race, I would be a 5 hour finisher, so I was cheering for my people!
After a long day at the races I sauntered home. I vegged out for the rest of the day and was quite tired all day on Monday. In retrospect, this is going to be a peak race memory for me. I made a plan (including cleaning and lubing my chain the day before) I stuck to it in the face of tons of adrenaline and race day craziness and I achieved the result I knew my body had to give me.
They should all be this good!