Motivation for a second big swim
Gruntor
MelbourneMember
So you may have completed your BIG goal swim. You made it through all your training, your lead up swims and races, and then you somehow managed to complete your BIG dream swim. Awesome work!!!
You went on holiday, maybe drank more wine than normal, and then spent lots of time repaying your debts to your family, work, garden and friends.
All of sudden you noticed that you had a spare 10 to 20 hours of time on your hands per week. Some may have noticed how quickly this got soaked up into normal life...
And all of a sudden your body started changing... hey thats cool. Who cares! You just swam the channel (or similar), you legend, you. *no one really cares, but you might... all that work, and you were looking soooo good in the mirror - I think a little vanity is ok ;-)
Now lets face it: we are an amazing group of inspired, passionate and dedicated swimmers. Some of you are naturally constantly motivated. Some of us rise to the challenge, perhaps just once.
So here is my question: what got you motivated to rise up to a similar NEXT challenge? What went through your head? What was the process that got you there? Where did you get your inspiration from? How was it different the second time round?
Really just interested in your stories about what you did next.
Comments
The second the "I'm NEVER doing that again" feeling wore off (about 24-36 hours later) I immediately started looking into the next big thing. I had already narrowed down my choices before I even boarded my flight home. I know that unless I have something to look forward to, I get kind of depressed after a major accomplishment
Looking forward to June! @mjstaples
Catalina was my first marathon swim. I SWORE I was done after that- I've never been in so much pain. That lasted a week or so- and then the "well, that would be a cool place to swim" thoughts started... So, since Catalina, I've done swims that I think are interesting or fun or involve great people. Hasn't led me off course yet. :-)
I imagine that your experience is psychologically pretty common. I think our brains 'enjoy' finding something to focus on, and then, after a period of time, finding something else. Any of these sound familiar?
I think this sort of on again/off again stuff happens all the time, and I bet Craigslist and eBay confirm it.
After my EC attempt, I deliberately stayed away from the pool for three months, but then I found myself itching to get back.
I give myself guilt-free permission to bail for at least two days if I get to the pool, and I jump in, and I'm not really "feeling it". (I once jumped in, pushed off the wall, and knew it was time to get out before I finished my underwater glide.) For me, it's the most useful technique I have for avoiding burnout. I wonder if you're experiencing something on a larger scale. Maybe give yourself a guilt-free couple of months where you're not "allowed" to go to the pool, and then see how you feel? But maybe intentionally do (or don't) replace your swimming time with another activity?
I think it's probably also worth reflecting on the medical aspects of things. Could you be experiencing a thyroid issue or iron deficiency? If you gained weight for an EC attempt and haven't lost it, and then gained more, possibly pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes? Perhaps there's a medical issue that's decreasing your get-up-and-go-ness. Might be worth looking into.
I swim for 2 years and before this I didn't know how to swim. I'm an ultra runner and when I did race the Brazil 135 mile ultra (our Badwater), I simply quit running after that. Brazil 135 was a dream and a life challenge, so I realize that I don't like to run, I like that race and I did it just one time because I'm afraid that twice it can lose the special meaning. I'm really enjoying swimming, but I don't know if I want to go too far in distance. 5 K is enough.
PS: Sorry for the bad English.
My motivation is failing or DNF'ing the event previously.
Seriously.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
Great thread!
So after my Catalina, hell not even after...DURING, I thought man this sucks "I don't ever want to do this again." Like @mjstaples said, not even a couple days later I had thoughts of another swim. I have done ultra marathon runs before, taking about the same amount of time as an ultra swim...and the mental aspect of continuing on despite discomfort or boredom (mainly boredom) is the same for both....you know you can do it, but damn 12 hours is a long time to do anything much less vigorous exercise. I don't even think I can sleep for 12 hours!
Catlaina was July of 15', by October I had signed a contract with a pilot boat to attempt a triple crossing of the Catalina Channel in August of 16'...
To answer the question of what motivates me as an individual...I'd probably go with because I hate it and I don't particularly like the agony of swimming fro hours upon hours upon hours but that doesn't last forever. Fortunately in this incredible sport, your accomplishments do last forever! 36 hours of hell is well worth a lifetime of achievement and the admiration of generations to follow!
P.S I really do hate swimming more than like a couple hours at a time! Momma always told me, "If it were easy, everyone would do it."
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Great post Gruntor, I know exactly where you're coming from. I trained excessively for 18 months to succeed in 3 specific swims over the final 6 month period and owed a big debt of gratitude to my family. I came off the high of succeeding in my final swim then my body and mind went into close down. I gave it 3 weeks to recover then tried swimming again and both my mind and body gave me a resounding 'no way!'
12 months later I'm still fit, still fairly fast and still love swimming but I struggle to find motivation. I've set myself the same 3 race schedule for next year to snap myself out of it and will need a few months to get fit and strong again.
I miss pushing myself but my body and mind didn't want to be pushed.
Get motivated and train not to DNF in the first place. It'll save you time, money, and minimize your DNFs. There's nothing good about not finishing. Ever.
No-one wants to DNF, but many people find satisfaction in having pushed themselves to their limits on the day. In the course of my research, I met many people who had experienced DNF's as personal successes, or as useful learning experiences.
Both experiences (training well enough to not DNF and experiencing a DNF - which can happen on the same swim) are very powerful mirrors.
A thousand times yes. Preparation does not automatically lead to "success," and some unprepared folks do manage "successful" outings. DNFs do not always result from lack of training.
THIS, so many thousand times, this!
I wish it were easier to explain to people outside of your training sphere that the DNF is not always the result of a lack of training, but some folks sure like to make it seem like that. I ended a coaching relationship for this very reason, believe it or not.
Just because you are prepared to swim it does not mean it will be your day. It's taken me several years to come to terms with that and I am, without question, a better person and athlete for finally recognizing the precarity of this sport.
I think my point is missed. (I'll remove natural barriers such as weather, tide, current from my argument.)
I've DNF'd three swims. One for an injury and two for cramping. Those two hurt the most because I was in position to make the USA Pan Pac team in 1995 and Worlds in 2005. I regret getting out of both races because I felt that I quit, didn't give myself the chance to recover, and finish the race (even though I was out of the money).
Quitting one swim makes it exponentially easier to quit the next one, which is what happened to me in Atlantic City 1996. I was having a bad day and wimped out.
We need to go into swims with the mindset of finishing and not being satisfied with going 1/2 way. Maybe set a more realistic goal like a 5K if you have a hard time making it to 10? You need to know what it feels like to be successful and not condition your mind to be a failure, Sea Biscuit.
I've had more $h!tty swims than good ones; most of which I had to dig deep just to finish. I pledged to myself that there was no way I was ever going to quit a swim again unless I was pulled from the water by my escort or official. I had to be rescued in the 2005 25k because my body was a giant cramp. I kept fighting to move forward (I still was in position to make Worlds), but my wife hit me in the head with a life-ring. It destroyed me. 25K Nationals were no longer held a year or two, so redemption wasn't possible.
You never know if you'll ever have the opportunity before you again. Make the most of it. No excuses.
Take it from me. I'm having my ninth back surgery in a month. I'll be laid up for six months. I've been told that my swimming career is probably over, but there's no way in hell I'm giving in that easy. If anything it makes me a little more salty to get it back and battle some nasty waves with you guys.
Maybe I'm in the minority on this one. My OW career was born out of races where the stakes were pretty high and DNFs hung around our necks like dead albatrosses, so maybe I'm wired differently.
Long story short; it's better to finish than not.
Signing off,
Chris
If we all finished every swim what would that say about the extent to which we are challenging ourselves? If the prize is to finish the surely the risk is that you won't.
@swimmer25k
Chris,
“…DNFs hung around our necks like dead albatrosses, so maybe I'm wired differently.”
I don’t think we are that different (well, you are a lot faster). You say “albatrosses”, I say “mirrors”. You’ve obviously spent a lot of time thinking about your DNF’s – as have I. I’ve had two. The first one was a half mile from France and, believe me, I have played that one over in my head 1,000’s of times. My only point was that dealing with what it takes to be completely prepared (pain, time, effort) forces a lot of self-examination. And dealing with a DNF, especially when you are completely prepared, also forces a lot of self-examination. The examination of your DNF's had you think differently. Same here.
Best of luck with your back. If I can help, please let me know. (I could send you a MSF t-shirt!)
Anthony
All,
Please don't think that Chris / @swimmer25k meant anything bad when he told me to "get motivated and train not to DNF." Chris is a great trainer, coach and motivator. He only meant the best for me.
IronMike
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
"what got you motivated to rise up to a similar NEXT challenge?"
@Gruntor I will warn you from the start, I don't have the answer. I wish I did because I have lost my motivation and it has left a bit of a hole in my life both physically and emotionally.
After a six month break I am only recently returning to the water but now I find how much ability/fitness I seem to have lost depressing. Sometimes it feels like the last four years of swimming/training never happened and I am back where I started.
I think part of the problem is the excitement and novelty of it all wore off and in the end it just became a boring repetitive task. Which is a shame because in the past I have loved swimming. I also felt increasing guilt about all the time and money I was spending on what increasingly seemed like little more than a self indulgent hobby.
I hope I become motivated to get back into it, or to find something else to replace it with.