If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and are interested in getting in shape (personal fitness or triathlon work) - San Francisco City Boot Camp is beginning tomorrow and will be held at Aquatic Park (where the Alcatraz swim races have finish). The Boot Camps will be held Monday, Wednesday, Friday and during the weekend - and begin at 6am, 7am and 8am. They will be organized by Team beRecruited member Anette Herrera.

Learn more at http://www.sfcitybootcamp.com - San Francisco Boot Camps

After the awful oil-spill in the San Francisco Bay, this weekend’s Treasure Island Triathlon is in question and rumors are swirling whether it is on or off… You will notice that Treasure Island is a little outside of the bay - but the swim is still in those waters… this is troublesome for a couple reasons:

1) obvious health reasons, and
2) Team beRecruited will have two competitors (Juan Valdivieso and myself) who are both swimmers by training … and it looks like the triathlon might be just a bike and swim. Below the map is the cryptic email that the event sponsors sent participants:

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San Francisco Triathlon at Treasure Island – The race will go on . . . (Nov. 8, 2007)

San Francisco, Ca. – Despite the recent 58,000-gallon oil spill into the San Francisco Bay on Wednesday, November 7, Tri-California Events, will continue to host the San Francisco Triathlon at Treasure Island as planned.

In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, city officials commented that Tri-California Events would completely cancel the event due to unsafe water conditions, resulting from the oil spill. Despite the information released in the press conference, the event will continue as planned.

Tri-California is in direct contact with the U.S Coast Guard and water safety officials. As of 1:00 pm on November 8, 2007, the US Coast Guard determined that the swimming area off Treasure Island is unsafe; however, the Coast Guard will re-evaluate water conditions daily.

Tri-California Events does not intend to make any final decisions about the swim portion of the race until late Friday, or even early Saturday morning, unless officially determined sooner. Regardless, the event will continue with at least the bike, and run portion. The Olympic distance race (Saturday) will begin with a 7:15 am start for age group athletes, and 12 noon start for the elite race as planned. The Sprint distance race (Sunday) will begin at 7:15 am for age group athletes.

Tri-California Events will release complete details via the official race website www.tricalifornia.com/treasureisland/2007 when race organizers and water safety officials make final determinations.

Please do not reply to this email. For additional information on the 2007 San Francisco Triathlon at Treasure Island, please visit www.tricalifornia.com.

Team beRecruited.com competed in the 2007 Alcatraz 100 (our 4th time in the race) and Steuart Martens took first pace with a time of 31:55. It was a beautiful day and the calmest of all the Alcatraz events we have competed in… but while it was calm, the currents were very tricky and very challenging. Chris Fleizach, in his second Alcatraz swim, finished in just over 40 minutes and Ryan Spoon finished in just over 41 minutes. Stephen Chang, who was registered for his second Alcatraz swim, didn’t show up and was a DNF.

Steuart Martens and Ryan Spoon swam together with Curl Burke Swim Club - Steuart went on to swim distance freestyle for Purdue University, Ryan did breaststroke with Duke University. Chris Fleizach swam with Ryan at Duke and specialized in backstroke and butterfly.

The currents were very strong today and both Chris and Ryan missed the entrance to Aquatic Park by a few hundred yard. SportsWrap has written before on How to Swim Alcatraz - and this was an example of how not to swim it. The currents shifted halfway through the race (as normal) and REALLY started pushing racers west - and way past the entrance to Aquatic Park. The currents were so strong that times from today’s race were quite slow in comparison to other events (for instance, in 2004, both Ryan Spoon and Jarrod Schwarz beat today’s winning time - 28min, 31min).

Congratulations to the 2007 Alcatraz 100 champion - Steuart Martens!

Here is an example of Chris’s and Ryan’s swim paths:

A perfect San Francisco morning:

Steuart Martens, Ryan Spoon and Chris Fleizach:

Steuart showcases his trophy:

Chris keeps his body warm - I think:

Steuart taunts last year’s winner, Susan Preston (who apparently was not happy with Stu):

I won’t sleep well tonight…. scared:

San Francisco Bay PORTS, NOAA/NOS at 9:09 am PDT May 11, 2001
———— TIDES —————— CURRENTS —
(F)lood, (S)lack, (E)bb —–

Golden Gate -0.3 ft. :
Golden Gate (predicted) 1.1 kts.(E), 227°T
Alameda -0.4 ft.,Falling: Oakland 0.3 kts.(E), 316°T
Richmond -0.2 ft.,Falling: Richmond
Port Chicago 1.5 ft.,Falling: Benicia Bridge
Redwood City 0.3 ft.,Falling:

————– Spec.Grav. Salinity Water Tmp ————– Spec.Grav. Salinity

Grizzly Bay ******************** :
Golden Gate *****************
Alameda *****************
Richmond *****************

— METEOROLOGICAL —- Wind Speed/Dir ———
Air Press Air Temp Water Temp

Golden Gate 3 knots from W , gusts to 8 1014 mb 53°F 55°F
Alameda Calm 1013 mb 56°F 65°F
Richmond Calm 1013 mb 56°F 60°F
Port Chicago 13 knots from WSW, gusts to 16 1012 mb 60°F 65°F
Redwood City Calm 1013 mb 60°F 68°F
Oakland 7 knots from NNW, gusts to 9

As noted yesterday in the the Santa Barbara Triathlon recap, the race was cold, slightly slower than 2006, but plenty of fun. Here are the splits:

Chris Fleizach
Overall: 45:50 (22nd)
Swim: 8:11 (7th)
T1: 2:10
Bike: 19:58 (138th)
T2: 1:30
Run: 14:04 (14th)

Ryan Spoon
Overall: 48:01 (47th)
Swim: 8:45 (13th)
T1: 2:29
Bike: 18:21 (65th)
T2: 1:30
Run: 16:58 (119th)

Clearly my run sucked - and Chris’s was the 14th fastest. The difference in our run was really the difference in our overall time! Our swims were generally near the fastest despite being the only idiots to not wear wetsuits in the 60 degree water… awful idea. The good news is that we both beat a 12 year old out of the water… but I lost to him after my terrible run… in fact, we both lost to him in the run… I somehow gave up a ~3 minute lead on the run to a 12 year old!!!!!

Grant Schroeder , 12
Overall: 47:23
Swim: 9:06
T1: 1:39
Bike: 21:04
T2: 1:30
Run: 14:05

Good news - Alcatraz is a balmy 60 degrees right now… and when we are on the boat at 7am with no sun…. you can bet the 59 degree water will be divine!

This morning, Team beRecruited competed in the 2007 Santa Barbara Sprint Triathlon. Chris Fleizach and Ryan Spoon represented beRecruited.

The event consisted of a 500m swim, 6mi bike and 2mi run.

The announced water temperature on the website was 64 degrees - so we opted to not bring wetsuits considering the swim’s distance and next weekend’s Alcatraz 100 event…. terrible choice because the water was actually 60 degrees and FRIGID.

I don’t remember much of the swim (other than general numbness)… the bike was fast and smooth… but I was completely beat by the start of the run. And my transitions were remarkably slow.

Chris finished 22nd overall (of 800) and 5th in the age group with a 45:50. I finished in 48:01. Splits to come - but here are the top two finishers - two of only four people to break 40:

1 Michael Smith , 43 Santa Barbara , CA 0:36:220 Men_40-44
2 Andrew Maxwell , 22 Santa Barbara , CA 0:37:010 Men_20-24

In preparation for the 2007 Santa Barbara Triathlon, I have pulled up some results from the last couple years. With 400 athletes competing in the sprint triathlon, it is a competitive and popular event. The top results, as you would expect, are blistering fast.

While a very solid goal will be to finish around the 45 minute mark (depending on the course - which I have not seen) - 29 people broke 45 minutes in 2005.

Remember, the Santa Barbara Sprint Triathlon is:
500 yard ocean swim
6 mile bike
2 mile run

Santa Barbara Triathlon (2006)
EAST BEACH GRILL Co-Ed Sprint Course

#1. Andrew Maxwell (21)
7:28 (swim), 15:21 (bike), 11:59 (run): 35:58 Total

#2. Mike Smith (42)
8:07 (swim), 14:37 (bike), 11:37 (run): 36:04 Total

Santa Barbara Triathlon (2005)
EAST BEACH GRILL Co-Ed Sprint Course

#1. Michael Smith (41)
6:56 swim, 17:11 bike, 10:57 Run, 35:03 Total
Not only is that bike a better than 20 miles per hour, his run was sub 5:30 / mile average!

#2: Andrew Maxwell (20)
6:57 (swim), 17:33 (bike), 11:45 (run): 36:14 Total

With lots of events lined up in the next few weeks (Santa Barbara Sprint Triathlon, Alcatraz 100 and Pacific Grove), I biked on 17 Mile Drive in Monterey yesterday which must be one of the prettiest bike rides in the US. The first 7 miles are on the shore (passing through classic golf courses like Pebble Beach and Spanish Bay), the next 5 are in the woods and uphill (brutal) and finally the bike closes out with some winding flats and very fast downhills.

Here is a photo I took and a map:

Team beRecruited will be competing in the 2007 Santa Barbara Triathlon held two weeks from today. We will be competing in the sprint version (500 yard swim, 6 mile bike, and 2 mile run) because the following week we will be swimming in the 2007 Alcatraz 100 and the next week in the Pacific Grove Triathlon.

Joining me in Santa Barbara will be Chris Fleizach - who also swam in the 2006 Alcatraz Swim or Die. In preparation for the Santa Barbara Sprint Tri - we did a run through of the same distances this morning and it took about 45 minutes (though distances were not precise). Here is more about the Santa Barbara Tri:

500 yard Swim
Quick and easy, the ocean swim parallels the beach. The average water temperature is 64 degrees. Wetsuits are optional but getting them off may negate any time advantages of wearing one.

6 Mile Bike
The course is very fast and nearly flat (with the exception of one decent-sized hill near the Four Seasons Biltmore). Carry the water you need, as this out-and-back course goes so quickly there’s no time for a water station.
Obey all traffic laws – this is an open course. Please note that event volunteers are not able to disrupt or instruct the flow of traffic. Do not take instruction regarding your right-of-way from anyone unless it is a City Police officer or California Highway Patrol officer.

2 Mile Run
One mile out, one mile back – it’s that simple. You can get water at mile one if you dare to slow down.