Confidence Boost

Tonight's Fortius swim was a good reminder that I'm a pretty competitive dude.  After placing me one lane over for warm-up and drills, Coach Gerardo moved me to the "fast" lane where there was a higher contingent of swift swimmers than usual. Then, we paired up into two's and raced 25 yards all-out with 20 seconds of rest between sets.  The winner of each set faced a faster swimmer until that person lost. Personally, I felt like I had no business beating anybody in that lane.  But I'm so paranoid about making a fool of myself or embarrassing myself that it propels me even faster.  I don't want anybody in the fast lane thinking I don't belong there, so I push harder to sort of justify my existence in that space.

I suppose it paid off tonight, as I beat two of the three people I faced in our sprint heats.  Now that's not saying much, as it's entirely possible they weren't pushing as hard, were recovering from weekend races or are better long-distance swimmers than sprinters.  But for me, it was still validation.

I belong in the fast lane.  I earned it.  And while I know that in the grand scheme of "fast" swimmers I'm really glacial, on our team filled with people who have become true friends, I know I can hang.  I remember when I first started training for my first triathlon with Fortius and was beyond intimidated by everyone's skills.

I feel like I've come a long way.   Through a lot of hard work, that is.  And a lot more hard work to go.

77 days and counting.