I signed up for the Great Chesapeake Bay Bridge swim with my friends Joe and Jon, because we were already going to be in the DC area for IGLA+ this week.

I swam this is about 2hr5min which is almost the same time I got back in 2017. I happened to win first in my age group. It turns out that there were only 3 people in my age group, but that’s fine with me! A win is a win. I got a fun little plaque.

The swim honestly felt like a bit of a slog. As soon as I swam in between the two bridges, I felt done. Maybe it was just a long week. Some of the “corners” where we turned felt a bit crowded but a lot of the swim I felt like I was on my own. I got pushed towards the south side of the bridge a bunch, so looking at my GPS route, I can see where I had to “zag” back inside various pylons of the bridge to stay on course.

Compared to last time, it was great to have some familiar faces, and I even got to see my friend Katie Pumphrey at the start and finish of the swim! It was so great to catch up with her, and she gave me one of the new beers named after her (“Katie Pumphrey’s Big Swim”).