SWIM - 16 miles      BIKE -  580 MILES       RUN - 212.4 MILES

I decided to do this event yesterday at about 2 pm.  I am feeling pretty good after an Ironman the previous week.

The swim is in the Bay right in front of the St. Francis yacht club. A 1 mile swim only 75 yards off the shore.  It is an out and back course.  This event also had a sprint triathlon going at the same time.  The sprint competitors started first and had a turn buoy about 3/4 of the way out to our turn buoy.  All men took off together and me and 1 other swimmer gapped the group.  There was a kayaker to lead us because the sun was right in our eyes and it was hard to see the turn buoy.  the other swimmer made the turn about 100 yards ahead of me.  No one else in sight.  One the way back we started catching some of the slower sprint competitors.

upon exiting the water, i was told that i was in 4th place.  Hmmm, didn't';t see anyone ahead of me or pass me.  Oh well, just keep going.  We pulled off our wetsuits, put on running shoes and ran the 3/4 mile to the transition area.  I hopped on my bike and immediately started the climb out of transition.  the bike course in 5 laps and is basically up to the top of the bluffs above Baker beach, down to the parking lot at  Baker beach and then back up again.   I had a few cyclist pass me.  the weather was perfect, the course tough and the scenery amazing.

I was caught by a FoMo rider and we rode together for 3 laps.  When I headed back to transition for the run, he still had 1 lap to go.  The ride was great.

Transition and off on the run which is an out and back course over the Golden Gate Bridge, down to the north anchorage on the Marin side and then back.  I passed one guy going over the bridge and 1 guy passed me.  I could see a couple of runner ahead of me and recognized them both as cyclist who had passed me on the bike.  Off the bridge and down the hill to the turn around I caught another runner.  At the bottom of the hill they had a spotter writing down numbers off the competitor.  When I hit the turn, i asked how many ahead of me.  I was in 11th.  Hmm, I don't remember that many people ahead of me.  I had my sights on one guy ahead, he stopped twice on the bridge because he looked like he was cramping, but i could never completely close the gap.  I did outsprint one person right at the end so I ended up 12th overall and 2nd in my age group.

Not bad for doing an Ironman the previous week and deciding to do this race 17 hours before the start.

Event 32, done!

My 6th Ironman, but it has been 8 years from the last one.  I have been keying for this all year and am glad I got through it.

Race report:

Swim is a 2 loop course with a run across the beach in between laps.  the morning dawned cloudy and windy.  I had been given advice to bring rain gear for the bike and run, but of course with my nervousness I forgot the gear in my room. I did remeber to put arm warmers in my swim to bike transition bag, so at least I would have some protection on the bike.

There were 2700 competitors in the race including the pro's. The pro's were sent off 35 minutes before the rest of the racers, to allow them some room to swim, bike and run. The rest of us were sent off with a canon blast at exactly 7 am.  It must be something to watch 2700 wetsuit clad racers heading off into the water.  I know it is a scary propostion for me to be running into the water with all those people and I am very confident in the water.

It was chaos. People all around me swimming or trying to swim, crowded into a very tight area. I was grabbed, swum over, scratched, (still don't know how I got a 5 inch scatch on my lower leg with a wetsuit on, but I did).  The swim was crowded throughout the first lap.  The pod I was in overtook some pro men and women on their 2nd lap.  I tried to swim around them, but it was difficult.  I saw one female pro really struggle with several male age groupers just swim over the top of her.  Really scary stuff.  The 2nd lap was better except for the turns.  We had now overtaken the slower age group swimmiers and on the last turn before the home stretch one of these swimmers missed the turn and T-boned me in the side. he looked up like where are you going, and then realized that he had missed the turn and was heading in the wrong direction.  No injury to me, but it did shake me up alittle more than I aleady was.

Hit the beach at exactly 1 hour, slower than I wanted but found out later that with the wind and chop on the lake, the time was still good enough for 2nd in my age group and 88th overall.

Now, the biggest struggle I have after the swim is getting off my wetsuit.  It takes alot of energy to peel that sucker off. At Ironman, they have volunteers who strip the wetsuit off for you.  Really cool stuff.  You run up to a group and they just peel it off you from shoulder to feet.  I grab my transition bag and into the change tent.  Helmet, shoes, GU, Hammer products (Race Caps, Endurolytes) sunglasses and Arm warmers.  I can't get the arm warmers on because I am wet, so I leave them. (Not the right decision) but I am trying to do this race as fast as I can.  Scott Tinley, a Pro triathlete once said, "if it doesn't make you go faster, you don't need it". So off to my bike I go for a lovely 112 mile bike ride through the Idaho countryside.

Heading out on the bike it was cold and a little windy but managable. The course takes us out through the town about 8 miles and then back through town and then out to another lake.  I felt comfortable on the bike, not pushing it real hard on the first lap because I was unfamiliar with the course and didn't want to leave it all out there with some many more miles to go.  The scenary was beautiful.  Rolling hill after rolling hill.  Along Hayden lake and back towards town.  Each competitor has their age written on the back of their calf, so as people passed me, I would look at their age.  No one in my age group passed me for the first 56 miles.  I figured I was either 1st or 2nd in my age group after the first lap of the bike.

As we headed out for our 2nd lap, one guy in my age group passed me, but I was able to keep pace with him for awhile.  I saw my family on the side of the road and waved.  I know I was heading out on the out and back portion of the route and I would see them on the way back.  When I came back to where they were, I stopped and we took pictures(30 seconds of a 6 hour bike) and then I headed out for the remainder of the bike, only another 40 miles to go.  Several more competitors in my age group passed me on the 2nd lap, but for me, I felt that I had achieved my goal.  My lap times were very close and my overall time was 6 hours and 3 minutes.  I had told Paula that my goal time was 6 hours, I was right on schedule.

Bike to run transition, got my bag, put on my shoes, Headsweat running hat, fuel belt, couple of Advils and I am off.  My legs felt like lead!  I ran walked the first mile and knew that my lack of run training was going to make for a long marathon.  Then it started to rain, not hard, but now I was shuffling along and it was wet. The run takes us out through town and out along the out and back portion of the bike course right along the lakes edge. 2 little hills which seemed like mountains before the turn around. the wind was blowing off the lake which created spray that blew across the bike path we were running on. 

 I saw several friends and several more competitors in my age group pass me.  I was struggling but was determined to finish. run a mile, walk a half mile, run 2 miles walk a half mile.  Onward.  Saw Paula at the turn before my 2nd loop, she asked if I was going to make it? I was so cold I couldn't talk, but just kept going.

On the 2nd loop they were giving out the space blankets usually reserved for the finsihline area out on the run.  People had them wrapped all different ways,  I saw people with toga space blankets, superman caps because of the wind.  I saw one guy walking with 2 of these blankets wrapped around his waist and upper body to the point that I don't knnow how he could see anything it was wrapped so tighlty around his head.  Not to many people were smiling or even talking, but everyone was soldiering on.

Finally got back into town and finished in 12:25. Over 5 hours on the marathon.  It was a challenging day and I was happy to have it end.  Paula and the kids were there to great me at the finish, we took a picture, I gathered my stuff and we were out of there in less than 30 minutes.

Back to the room for a pepperoni pizza and bed.   

This race is one I have done many times in the past, but it has become increasingly difficult to get in. 

I picked up my race packet the morning of the race at 5 am, got to the transition area and set up my bike and running gear.  Then we boarded buses to take us to the boat which would take us on a one way trip out to Alcatraz.  This year there were almost 1800 competitors.  The announcer on the boat kept telling us the wave start times.  They planned to offload all 1800 competitors in 5 minutes from this boat.  That would be a sight to see. Unfortunately, being inside the boat i could watch all these wetsuit clad swimmers jumping into the cold bay waters.  The water temp was 58, so off we jump and hope that you don't jump on someone else and that no one jumps on you.

In I went and no problem about getting going.  I hit the water, it does take your breath away and started swimming.  From Alcatraz the organizers said to swim towards Aquatic Park and sight off the Sutro Towers and then head right along the shore to the St. Francis yacht club.  They recommended this because of the currents, but today there was no current.  All swim times seemed to be slow.

Once out of the water you strip off your wetsuit put on a pair of shoes and run about 1 mile to the bike transition area.  Because the water is so cold, your hands and feet are like ice blocks and the run gets your blood flowing.

On the bike and through the Presidio, Sea Cliff the great Highway past the Cliff House through golden Gate park and then back the way you came.  the course is somewhat hilly so you can't really get in a rhythm.  My goal was to do the bike in under 1 hour.  Goal accomplished with a 58 minute bike ride.

Onto the challenging run.  the first and last 2 miles are flat but the middle 4 miles are hilly, with small winding paths some of which are only single track.  We also have to run across Baker Beach through deep sand and then to climb out of the beach on the dreaded Sand ladder.  The Sand ladder is a 1000 foot climb with railroad ties strung together with cable and then covered in sand.  They have a timing mat at the bottom and top of the climb to get your split.  After completing this climb you still have 3 miles to go and a little more climbing to do.

After cresting the hill, it is a downhill run to the flats and then you are home free.  As I was coming down the last part the hill< i stepped wrong and twisted my ankle (bad).  I almost went down and took out several runners heading up the climb.  I had to stop for almost a minute to compose myself and then hobbled down to the flats.

As a side note - on the bike I had come up on a female rider who was 47 years old.  She was a strong cyclist and we traded places back and forth through the bike and then on the run.  I had gotten ahead of her after the sand ladder. When I twisted my ankle and was standing on the side of the trail, she came by and yelled at me to keep going.  I started to run walk and yelled to her that I had twisted my ankle. She said that the flats were coming up and that it would feel better on flat ground. 

So I got to the flats, and it did feel better.  i ended up passing her again and finished in under 3 hours.

That was good enough for 12 place in my age group and 165 overall.  So top 10 percent.

It was a great day, with beautiful scenery and a very supportive crowd.