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The Accountability Factor

My swimming sucks. Plain and simple. I am beginning to think about what it is going to mean when I don't make the swim cut-off time. This isn't something that I'm just not being realistic about. IM WI was in 2:04. No, the waves didn't slow me down. Think barge. Last time I was pulling my daughter in the raft, with no change in speed. I seem to be missing a gear.

Fitness is NOT a factor. Got the bike and run down pretty much without concerns. Can ride century rides without soreness, now doing bricks of 75/5. Those are going very well. I have doubled and tripled the bricks up also. No real issues there.

This time around, I am just avoiding swimming. It doesn't go well, the water is cold. The excuse list could be miles long. The only legit reason I have is that it aggravates my back. Too much extension in a swim position. It needs to be practiced, it will get better.

Swimming has not been made a habit. The biking and running gets done, because I love to do it. More importantly, it is a habit. There is a tendency to love the things you do. Once you get in there and make yourself do it, it gets easier. Ever notice how the longer you miss workouts, the easier that gets?

I am going to try to get up early to swim at Princeton on days that I am on call, as a way to overcome my excuse of swimming with a beeper. On the other days, I can swim after work there. At least once a week, I should get into the race for sighting practice. This will also force me to overcome anxiety about being in open water. This sort of panic can only be really understood if you have or have had this, and seems to be a REAL race limiter for me.

Comments

Unknown said…
For me its the run, I put it off constantly.
Good luck and GET IN THAT POOL!

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