this year has been a year to knock a lot of things off my bucket list! it started with running boston. then europe. and then swimming alcatraz. my aquatics boss has been harassing me to swim this race for years. it seemed terrifying and freezing cold so i never did it!
this year i began swimming the master's swim practices twice a week at club sport. sarah--the coach--convinced me to swim alcatraz with her. i signed up several months ago. it was kind of pricey too, so there was no backing out! so i wasn't planning on going to europe OR doing a 1/2 iron man (the very next day) when i signed up, but i felt pretty well trained regardless. it was a 1.2-1.5 mile swim depending on how straight you swim and if you let the current take you off course a little. the thing i was most terrified about was the cold.
for this race, you ride a ferry to alcatraz and 3 at a time from both sides of the boat, you jump off and start swimming immediately! i for sure thought as soon as i jumped off my body would go into shock, i would have an anxiety attack, or who knows, maybe i shark would be waiting there to eat me! but mostly, i was nervous of the cold!
luckily the race was so early i was 1/2 asleep during the ferry ride making me less nervous. i also ended up on the same boat with a fellow master swimmer who had done it many times before so he gave me good advice but mostly moral support. i honestly was so turned around from the boat ride, i didn't even know what direction to shore! haha...you think it would be easy, but for some reason it wasn't. they kept saying to aim for different landmarks that i could not identify. i also was late and missed the pre-race "talk" where they give you directions and advice. i guess i was just winging it! i felt like i'd probably figure it out once in the water! we all were wearing bright yellow caps so i would be able to spot others easily.
it came time to jump off and i jumped in semi-cannon ball style holding my nose expecting to die. to my surprise it wasn't that bad! i started swimming right away! there were a lot of waves! the water was super choppy and there was a strong current pushing us toward the golden gate. my plan of following other swimmers did lead me astray as i followed them being pushed by the current. (life lesson: don't always follow other people expecting they know what they're doing because a lot of times they are wrong.) it was hard to see the shore or any landmark because the waves were so high and my goggles were so foggy.
i definitely drank a lot of salt water, had numb fingers and toes, and got salt in my eyeballs but i finally made it to shore 58 minutes later! it felt SO good to finish. this was seriously one of the craziest, bravest things i've ever done. i am so grateful my awesome family was there to greet me at the end. it is always nice to have loved ones at the end of races. they even brought butters. i think she had a great day in the city and licking the salt water off of me when i got out.
here are some pictures thanks to my wonderful dad:
 |
| the ocean |
 |
| the finish |
 |
| the island |
 |
| looking at the island through the finish |
 |
| the medals! |
 |
| the white ferry out in the distance is where we were |
 |
| the first swimmer came in at 29 minutes i think. he obviously didn't get lost like i did! haha |
 |
| sea of swimmers |
 |
| that's me! probably wiping snot from my nose! salt water + freezing cold = runny nose |
 |
| it was actually kind of hard to see because my googles were leaking a bit causing my eyes to get salt water in them. my mom laughed at me when she saw how poofy my eyes were! |
 |
| hence the sunglasses ASAP |
 |
| butters attacking some other people |
 |
| butters! notice how she's not even jumping to me, she's jumping to my mom! haha |
 |
| the end! |
