John bought me a swimming watch for my birthday, and at last it came out of its packaging and into the pool last week. Apart from the odd technical hitch (I kept inadvertently pressing buttons...) it recorded some interesting stats on my swim about my efficiency (above average thanks to starting from scratch), my stroke, my speed etc.
It wasn't until thursday night when I was talking to my son Ben about the stats that he asked me a great question - "How far is the channel, and how many times will you swim it (in miles) before the date?"
What a great visualisation! So, from 1st March I am now recording the mileage I swim, and having just got back from a 7am Gnarly Nutters swim session this fine saturday morning, I am now on 2.2 miles, over 10% of the way across the channel as the crow flies. I LOVE IT!
I have had many 'realisations' during my training, and probably the biggest one is the level of commitment required to achieve any big goal. Whilst my daughter Jess was at Oxford Brookes Uni last week applying for Art Foundation I went swimming in a local pool. Having decided to do a 90 minute swim, after only 30 minutes they closed it for school children :( Undeterred I leapt out, surfed my blackberry for other pools in the vicinity, phoned 2 who sadly had the same timetable, accosted a poor man to find any other recommendations, and finally realised a lot of the pools in oxford are shut 9.30 - 12 on wednesdays.
A less determined person would have quit and gone to the Macdonalds on the Headington roundabout (yup i did consider it..), however, I had made the commitment to swim, so rather than procrastinate, I made a decision, I jumped in the car, drove the 25 miles back to High Wycombe, put my wet suit back on and swam for another hour, before returning to oxford to collect Jessica.
Breaking down the big goal into these smaller commitments may be obvious, but what happens is that we get a boost every time we achieve them. Yes, I felt very self righteous, but what I felt most was the satisfaction of sticking to my commitment. This mindset has helped many who are trying to achieve breakthroughs, or hit a longstanding goal, and I know it will be what helps me to swim in september 2012. Each leg is an hour, each hour gets us closer to france, each stroke is for a greater good. The commitment is to myself, to my team mates, and most of all to the charities we support.
As Zig Ziglar said “It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.”
