My Worst Race Ever and I Couldn't Be Happier

Recently, I "competed" in the annual Poverty To Cove 2.4 Mile Open Water Swim in Cape May. I have done this swim a dozen times or so and I would always swim around ~45 minutes give or take. I swam 54:56 and I had 5x the fun I ever had. Here's my 5 reasons why:

1. I signed up 2 days before the race
2. I had zero expectation of "performing well"
3. I got to talk with other athletes as an athlete, not a race director
4. It my was longest swim in over 5 years
5. I started and finished with a smile

On race morning I woke up from very little sleep due to a hectic weekend of work. My Garmin sleep results were horrible and simply read: REST. I conquered my inner demons who were whispering for me to stay in bed. My feet hit the floor. Step 1, check. I made my way to the coffee machine, started a pot, and was sipping in no time. Step 2, check. While I was brushing my teeth, I looked at myself and thought, "You look tired. What are you doing? You've gotten little sleep the last 4 days, you're not properly trained, and you're going to suck." Luckily, I'm on a first name basis with the voices in my head and know what it takes to overcome endless Resistance. I grab my gear, I'm out the door. Step 3, check.

P2C is a point-to-point swim so you need to make a plan for transportation back to your car. I dropped my bike off at the finish and headed to the start. The closer I got to Poverty Beach, the more cars I see, and I started to get "all the feels" of race morning. I check in. I see so many people I used to race with, and I immediately remember why I loved racing so much. The camaraderie and energy of race morning, as an athlete, is incredible. At that moment I knew I had been away far too long.

Of course, during check-in the weather was perfect but as the time inched closer for us to start the sub 60-degree water mixed with hot/humid air and fog rolled in. There was enough visibility for us to see, just not see that far.  I opted to not use a wetsuit as I knew the cold water would be really refreshing, and it was. A few announcements and we hit the water.

For the past few years, my swim training has been more about staying in touch with the water, not trying to master the water. No real goal or regime when I swim, rather it's more about staying loose and that's exactly what my swim experience was during the race. I never felt tired or tight. I swam free and happy. After 10 minutes I could no longer see land, just fog in all directions, and no one else around me. What a strange feeling. Clearly, I had been steadily swimming out to sea, but I have done this swim before and knew where the sun should be and to keep moving forward. Intermittingly, I would check my watch for distance traveled and I knew when I hit 4000 yards I would be super close to the finish. At that time, I started, or so I thought, to swim "in" that's when a Cape May Beach Patrol lifeguard boat found me and said, "You're swimming towards the lighthouse, swim in!" I had missed the turn and was in a nasty current heading up the point. I actually started laughing out loud and thought, "What a rookie move!" But I didn't care, I had swam more than most and I still felt great. That was the goal all along. I hit the shoreline at the Cove and ran for a few minutes to the finish line. Done.

My official results:

54 minutes 56 seconds

4700 yards (or 2.67 miles)

157 out of 206 overall

6 out of 10 in my age group

I'm grateful for the experience of being in a race and having a great time. It never used to be like that. I was always stressed about performance or lack thereof. I can humbly say, I'm wiser now as I creep toward 50. I will definitely be doing this swim again in 2025 and who knows...maybe I'll show up to a starting line someplace else in 2024. If I do, I'll have a smile on my face.