Preparing for Alcatraz
Very early tomorrow morning, I’m heading out to San Francisco to race Alcatri XXVI. I’m pretty excited and only a bit nervous. The travel schedule is pretty beat – I get out there and have to pretty much go straight to pick up my bike and check in for the race and then go to dinner – so I won’t really have time to get my bearings. But I think it’s better than rushing to fly out there tonight, especially because Elizabeth can’t come until tomorrow morning anyway. Also, I’m excited to catch up with Steve and Ellen and meet Jack and to hopefully see George and Heather and meet James.
I have no idea what to expect from the race. The swim is the biggest question mark: How cold will the water be? How strong will the current be? Waves? After that, the distances aren’t tough, but the bike course sounds hilly (and I’m on a rental bike) and the run has the infamous “Sand Ladder”, which looks pretty terrifying. Also, the swim-run-bike transitions are different than I’ve ever done, so we’ll see how my body likes those. The winner last year did it in about 2:25, and there’s a pretty quick drop off to 2:50’s and 3:00’s. I’m feeling pretty good about my fitness right now, but I don’t know where I’ll end up.
I swam 2100 yards this morning, mostly in longer sets. It was a good swim – I feel comfortable and smooth in the water. We’ll see how that translates to the 1.5 mile swim in the Bay this weekend…
This evening I rode an easy hour on the trainer. I mostly just wanted to spin my legs.
Swim – October 13
Distance: 2100 yards
Bike – October 13
Time: 1:00
Average heart rate: 115