On a total fluke I signed up for the lottery to get in the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in San Francisco next summer. I never win anything or have luck when it comes to earning something for nothing, but that all changed when I opened my email last week to the words "Congratulations, you've been accepted to compete in the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon 2011".
What have I done! I have to swim from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco in freezing cold water. That's cool, I'm a swimmer. The difficult part is that the San Francisco Bay averages about 55 degrees at that time of year. And the other difficult part: two ton sea-lions. I've never swam with two ton sea-lions in the wild before. Or those other things that like to eat two ton sea-lions. I read on the events website that it's one of the most challenging events in triathlon. I did once swim so far from the shore in Florida with my coach and another swimmer that we couldn't see the shore line. We pasted fishing boats. During one deep cold dive looking for conch shells, head splitting from the pressure, I heard a high pitched squeal, very close by. Dolphins. The three of came up and decided to swim back, fast. I just kept thinking that sharks eat dolphins don't they? Sharks eat anything yes? I will have to overcome some fear. I'm respectful of open-water ocean swimming. It's like running through a densely forested wild jungle in the nude.
Needless to say I've been in the water the last two days putting in some yardage. My life has been a complete mess lately on several fronts. I'm even gaining weight - up to 187. I'm not sure if I'm going to make it again to Wisconsin, but I'm swimming to San Francisco on June 5th. It may be the last thing I do. Or try to do!
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