All About the Pride

I've tried being patient.

I've tried being understanding.

I've tried guilt and I've tried peer pressure.

And I'm still not finding a way to get myself back into the swimming groove.

Which seems completely bizarre to me because I really do love it when I get there.

I just don't seem to care enough to get there.

So I'm through being patient and understanding and I have dropped the guilt and peer pressure tactics.

I'm moving on to more drastic measures.

I've registered for two triathlons. Entered my information. Chose my shirt size. Gasped at the price once they added taxes, administrative fees and insurance. Entered my credit card number anyway. Clicked confirm. Got the email saying I was in.

I'm committed. I'm doing a sprint triathlon in June and an Olympic triathlon in July.

I'm eyeing two more races as well although I have yet to pull out my credit card again. But they are another sprint and another Olympic which would bring my summer total up to 4 triathlons. (Plus a half marathon just to liven things up a bit.)

This is where the psychological part is going to kick in.

See, I know I could swim the distance if I had to do it tomorrow. When I hopped in the pool back in January, after a few months off, I swam 3k fairly easily. So the thought of having to swim 1500m is not enough to get me back in the pool.

What is enough is the thought of swimming 1500m poorly.

See, swimming is actually my strongest of the three sports. But I've neglected it so my speed and my form are nowhere near where they were two summers ago when I was swimming 3 times a week.

And finishing a triathlon in June with a swim time that is several minutes slower than it was two years ago is enough to get me back in the pool when nothing else was.

Turns out it's not about the guilt.

It's about the pride.