What is your motivation to swim?

What is your motivation to swim? #motivationalmonday
— Swim Across America (@SAAswim) July 22, 2013

Why do you swim?
— Masters Swimming (@MastersSwimming) July 25, 2013

I've been thinking a lot about motivation lately.  On Monday, Swim Across America posted the above question on Twitter, and then on Thursday US Masters Swimming kept it in the front of my mind!

I remember reading a biography of Shane Gould, an Australian swimming champion, when I was a kid.  She is the only person, male or female, to hold every world freestyle record from 100 meters to 1500 meters simultaneously, which she did when she was just 16! After reading about her, I remember asking my older brother to wake me up early so I could run around the outside of our house and "train." I also LOVED Janet Evans, and distinctly remember being super psyched when my Sports Illustrated for Kids arrived with her on the cover:

 
By the way, I still think Janet Evans is awesome, and thought it was so cool that she swam at the last Olympic trials!

When I was a kid, I swam with a club team--New Trier Swim Club.  Back then my motivation was fun, and sports "heroes." But, by the time I was 10,  I got sick so much from swimming all during the winter, that I eventually quit to play other sports.  Over the years, I've always come back to swimming--at overnight camp I got certified in emergency water safety, in college I took lap swim for gym credit 3 semesters, and one summer I even taught swimming and was a lifeguard at a day camp.

But, I've swum more, and more consistently over the last year, then during any time in my life since third grade.  So,what is my motivation to swim? 

Honestly, it started almost exactly a year ago, that I was sitting in my apartment in DC, watching the Olympics on TV and getting really excited about the swimming. My childhood love of Olympics swimming has not diminished.  But, as I sat on the couch, very overweight and not very happy, watching some of the world's most extraordinary athletes, it dawned on me that I needed to make some serious changes.

Also, this ad about a dad using all sorts of phone apps to get in shape for his daughter's wedding KEPT being played during the commercial breaks.  And I'm a sucker, because I found it  moving and motivating. 

The combination led me to the free app from Speedo called the Pace Club. (I've written about it before.) Within a week, I was following the Pace Club training track to increase my endurance.  And I completed all 24 workouts.  I also downloaded the Weight Watchers app, and started tracking what I eat.

So, that motivated me to start swimming, but what has kept me going for a year?  Habit.  Because the habit of swimming has powerful implications for my physical and mental health.

Physically, swimming has helped me lose 45 pounds, gain greater endurance and energy, and transform my body into one that is strong and flexible. It's also helped me improve my sleep.

Mentally, it is a challenge and an escape.  The challenge: How do I improve? Yet, how do I be kind to myself when I don't have a good swim?  At the same time, it's a place where my mind gets to meditate on 1-2-3 breathe, or getting my catch right, or keeping a steady 4 beat kick, or perfecting my flip turns.  It's the place where I can escape and work out my frustration and anxiety.  It makes me a happier person, it enables me to be more open and empathetic towards others.

For me, a day when I get to swim is the best kind of day.