During an intense training session or on the morning before a race, I have very often felt like stopping and giving up swimming. But then after all the intense effort and strain, a warm and comforting thought miraculously starts running through my head: “I could never give up swimming”.
I could give hundreds of reasons why swimming could never not be part of my life. I could come up with arguments of a physical, psychological and even philosophical nature, but there are some much simpler reasons why none of us wants to stop lapping up and down the pool.
#1 One hundred easy
These three words are like poetry to a swimmer. The “one hundred easy” is a real joy for every cell in a swimmer’s body. It is hard to describe it, because only somebody who has felt that incredible relaxing feeling after a really tough swim knows what kind of poetry we are talking about.
#2 Beating the swimmer in the next lane
None of us will admit to doing this, because we might be up against either competitive swimmers or even our best friend. But is there anything better than racing (and winning) against the person swimming in the lane alongside ours?
#3 A hot shower
I turn on the shower and the water starts running over my head, I close my eyes and all thoughts…
