After a month of anticipation, I escaped from Alcatraz this past Saturday. The distance swimming in the pool along with the weekly Sunday swims with Pedro and Water World Swim really helped make me more comfortable. I really was impressed by the really young kids doing the swim as well as the relatively old people who were jumping in without a wet suit. Beasts.

Three interesting things about the event:
1. I touched a sea lion during the swim! I momentarily freaked out and swam as fast as I could after that.
2. A 68 year old guy beat me by 3 minutes!! I hope I’ll be in that good shape when I have grandchildren.
3. The importance of Body Glide. This stuff is critical for open water swimming otherwise, you’ll be in serious pain.

Anyway, I finished in the middle of the pack at 47 minutes. The full results can be found here (I was number 845). I’ll post some pictures from the event when I get a chance to upload them. If anyone is interested in doing the swim with me next year, LET ME KNOW. I’d enjoy having a partner in crime.

Big thanks to Jim who let me borrow his wet suit for the event.

UPDATED: Pictures from the swim are in my gallery.