On Track

It feels incredibly good to keep my commitments to myself. No more skirting the truth with excuses. I’m building confidence that I can stick to my training plan and gaining hope that this come-back after a winter off will go well.

This morning, I could easily have stayed in bed because I didn’t sleep as well as usual last night. What a great excuse a fitful night can be! I could easily have skipped the open water swim this morning because I swam last night. What a great excuse “been there, done that” can be! I could easily have given up because last night’s swim was horrible – my goggles kept fogging up, I kept going off course, the waves bothered me a bit, and I just never found my rhythm. What a great excuse “I have no talent” can be!

Like a recovering alcoholic declaring five days of sobriety, I’m thrilled to have been on track for five days now. It’s important to celebrate small steps because taking realistic pride in accomplishments is a great motivational tool and one that I use very seldom. I tend to ignore victories instead of using them as building blocks. All too often, I let negative thoughts overwhelm the knowledge that I’ve done something right. No more self-sabotage! The ordinary vicissitudes of life are enough trouble. I really need to stop shooting myself in the foot.

Training log: At least 1400 meters of open water swimming – three 400-meter loops around the buoys and four 50-meter mass starts across the cove.
Motivation log: Training early in the day is much, much better for me than an evening workout. Also, looking back on just five days of success promotes further success.