This is one event I have always enjoyed racing, although when your standing on the side of a ferry next to Alcatraz Island ready to jump into the ice cold water of San Francisco Bay, you start to question whether you like it or not!  Those doubts are quickly washed away as you plunge into the unseasonably warm 58°f waters (normally 50°f) and try to catch your breath!

Going into this event I was feeling surprisingly good, I really wasn't too sure how much Ironman Texas had taken out of me 2 weeks earlier.  My legs were certainly “beaten” up from the Ironman but it's amazing what a few weeks of light training can do!

The water was really choppy out there as my swim stroke probably resembled more of a fistfight than a swim stroke, however I managed to fight through it and exited with the main group!  Unfortunately I had lost 50 seconds to Andy Pott's, so it was going to be a game of catch up!

I jumped on the bike and pushed hard, with the occasional glimpse of Potts up the road there was no time to enjoy the scenery!  It was your standard San Francisco day with the fog swallowing the Golden Gate Bridge, but perfect race temps as you had to push hard to stay warm!  I felt pretty strong and was happy I had made the decision to ride my Specialized Shiv (TT) instead of the Venge (road) as I was able to push on the flats and didn't lose any momentum on the climbs!

I entered T2 with the fastest bike split however it was only a few seconds faster than Potts and I still had a bit of work to do!  Heading out for the 8 mile run I felt great and on my toes as I had Potts in my sights!  Throughout the run the distance yo-yoed back and forth as I went through highs and lows and also as Potts went through highs and lows!

Unfortunately I “ran” out of real estate and wasn't able to catch Potts who claimed his 6thvictory at Alcatraz.  Certainly an impressive result and shows how good Potts is on this course, so to finishing only 38 seconds behind I wasn't too disappointed!

So another few easy days for me before a head to Maryland to race the Eagleman 70.3 event!

Bevan