Motivation to Train

It was easy to accept the invitation to Worlds, but for seven puzzling weeks, I couldn't scrape up enough motivation for training to fog a mirror. Although I thought about swimming, cycling, and running nearly every day, I couldn't get going. I even started asking friends how to kick my own butt. Two people gave me good counsel.

Last week, a long-time friend approached my question indirectly. He asked me the meaning of "wrought." At first, I thought of "made," but then "worked" sprang to mind. He said that I had worked to change from a couch potato to a triathlete. I've always liked to work. In fact, "work" is one of my favorite four-letter words, right up there with "hope," "risk," "dare," and "love." Therefore, it will be work that gets me in shape for Worlds. With the concept of work in mind, I began scraping up a bit of motivation.

This week, a new friend addressed my concerns head-on. She said that the only thing you need to think about, with regard to motivation, is five minutes. When she really doesn't want to work out, she tells herself to give it just five minutes. Then if she still doesn't want to, she can stop. Since getting out the door is hard for all of us, it makes perfect sense to bribe yourself with a short workout. By the time five minutes have passed, however, you're feeling good and want to continue.

"Work." "Five minutes." Got it. I think I can hold on to those ideas. Thanks, friends!

Training log: 700 yards of easy pool swimming in a variety of drills and strokes.
Motivation log: Packed my gear to make it harder to back out of swimming.