I know this will come as a surprise to many of you, but I am somewhat competitive by nature.
To wit:
I’ve been moaning for years about needing to get back to swimming. Parenting made it hard, and as that’s eased up some, I suffered a shoulder injury which has now been largely dealt with, but have still been faced with the fundamental difficulty of getting to the pool. We don’t own a car, which means walking or biking to the gym and it’s an hour+ walk from home which is frankly asking a lot before and after swimming. I’m not in great biking condition either, and it rains a lot here. Etc. Surmountable problems, yes, but also, let’s be fair, kind of reasonable ones, too.
Tonight, however, I took the first step in starting to swim, which is to say: I took a ten minute bike ride around the neighborhood, which I intend to do again over the next few days, so that by Monday or Tuesdayish, I’ll be over Bike Butt, which is in and of itself a disincentive to cycle to work (which is halfwayish to the gym): nobody wants to start by biking to work, get Bike Butt, and then HAVE to bike back home on Bike Butt that evening. Or at least I certainly don’t.
So step one is getting past Bike Butt. Step two is getting into decent enough condition to bike to and from the gym without THAT killing me (which it currently will). I’m planning to take at least, and ideally only, September to achieve that ability, but if it takes longer, it takes longer.
Step three, then, is starting to swim again. Finally.
And what has FINALLY been the driving inspiration to do this?
A man who lives on the other side of the planet, whom I’ve never met in person, has taken up swimming and he’s starting to get up to decent enough (by my former-competitive-swimmer standards) distances that it’s starting to get on my nerves that he’s doing it and I’m not. Because I’m a very mature and normal person like that. :)
The good news is he’s also competitive and finds it helpful? useful? amusing? something? that I’m coming for him. 😁
TOTALLY NORMAL. :)