Alcatraz Challenge; Bucket List Item

I had planned to swim Alcatraz this year for a while now, and only just finally got around to registering for the event. Thank goodness they did not sell out!  I procrastinated on registering, even though I had went ahead and bought the gear I need for this event - my neoprene cap for extra head warmth and my new fancy wetsuit that hopefully won't chafe the back of my neck.  I'll use this weekend to test the wetsuit.

The event is on July 22 and is coming up with the quickness!  It is an Aquathlon (swim + run).  1.5 miles of swim from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco, followed by a 7 mile run across the Golden Gate Bridge and back.  That should be fun - I imagine running the Golden Gate Bridge would be quite an experience as well.  This event fits very nicely into my training schedule as the week leading up to the Alcatraz Challenge happens to be Week 4, which is a recovery week.  That should leave me fresh for the Challenge.  On the weekend of the event, I anticipate a practice swim to test the bay waters on Saturday before the event on Sunday morning.

Swimming Alcatraz has not been high on the Bucket List, but it is one of the items that I'd like to be able to say I've done.  The aquathlon was only an extra $20 compared to the swim only event, so why not pay a bit extra and take the opportunity to run the Golden Gate Bridge as well?  It's one of the most iconic structures in California if not the United States, and I have a big framed photo of it in my living room.  Just makes sense that I should run it at some point, doesn't it?

I never took the time to write down my bucket list, but thinking about it now, it would look something like this (starting with the items I want to do the most badly:

- Complete an Ironman [training for it now]
- Pee in the Seven Seas [knocked out three of seven - Pacific, Atlantic, Mediterranean]
- Visit to North Korea [hopefully one day]
- Visit Tibet [need to do this before the Chinese government messes things up more than it already is]
- Go on an African safari [how awesome would that be?]
- See a bear in its natural habitat [bears are my favorite wild animals]
- See a bear catch salmon [I seen them do it on TV, it just looks awesome]
- Swim an "escape" from Alcatraz [this event!]
- Run Golden Gate Bridge [why not?]