This past week I received an email from my friend Suzann that she got into the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon with the lottery drawing on February 1st and that I had been picked as well. I was super psyched to hear this because we did the race together last year and wanted to have the chance to do it again.
Here's my name on the list:
Escape from Alcatraz is how it all began for me when I decided to randomly enter the lottery last year. I had already signed up for Wildflower with Team In Training, but found out my cousin's wedding was that weekend and I would need to switch teams. The other choice was Escape if I was picked in the random lottery. So, I entered and hoped for the best. Strangely, I was traveling in the Yucatan for work and had a vivid dream that I looked up my name and saw it on the list of chosen ones. Thus, the next day when we arrived in Merida I found an internet café to look up the results of the lottery on the tricalifornia website—and crazy enough there was my name just like the dream. Not wanting the opportunity to be lost, I paid right then and there by credit card for the race and began wondering if I could do the swim.
Who knows what I was thinking when I decided to enter the lottery—or maybe you could say I wasn't. I guess I was a little naive considering I had only swam for fun and never learned to swim any way other than the breast stroke and I don't even know if this is a proper breast stroke. Therefore based on people's reactions when I stated my first triathlon would be Escape, I quickly realized I might need some swim lessons and called around to find a coach at USF Koret.
Actually it was hilarious really the first time I scheduled a private lesson because I had no idea how to swim really...freestyle that is. I had watched swimmers and saw their arm rotation and breathing to the side, so off I go showing the coach my stroke by swimming 25 yds with a breast stroke kick and a freestyle arm rotation having no idea what I was doing. She sort of laughed and was probably wondering how I ever chose Escape from Alcatraz. Fortunately she told me she had met one other case like me and she was able to teach them what was necessary to finish the swim.
So, my first swim lesson was truly about proper kicking technique and off I went to practice with a kick board. My second lesson was about learning to separate my kick from my stroke such that I could kick faster and at a different pace from the stroke of my arms. It reminded me at first of trying to rub my head while patting my belly...a bit difficult and I guess a sign of my slight lack of coordination. So, these are my humble beginnings of figuring out how to swim freestyle so I could even think about finishing my first triathlon.
Thus, I look fondly at Alcatraz island because whenever I see it, I am reminded of what is possible and how any personal success really just starts with setting a goal and sticking with it. Choosing to do Escape from Alcatraz was one of my better decisions and has made triathlon a fulfilling part of my life, not to mention allowed me to develop new skills and athletic abilities. It reinforces to me that limits are self-imposed and that I hope to always keep a spirit of adventure and openness to learning and trying new things.
Here's a photo David took of me at the swim finish where I knew I had reached my goal of crossing the Bay from Alcatraz to St. Francis without being repositioned. Yeah, I look a bit funny from having swam for nearly an hour, but what I like the most is knowing how I felt at that moment because I can see the happiness in my face knowing that the "unknown" aspect of the race was finished and I would definitely complete my first triathlon that day.
