Cannon Balls Off the High Dive

Tom Wigginton • January 15, 2014

I needed a new challenge this year. Because, you know, owning a business, being a father to 16 month old twin boys and being a husband to a hot trophy wife wasn’t enough.* So, I committed to do my first triathlon in June – olympic distance.

For those of you who don’t know what the distances are (I didn’t until after I signed up), it’s a 1.5 kilometer (.93 mi) swim, 40 kilometer (25 mi) bike, 10 kilometer (6.2 mi) run. Every race is slightly different depending on the course but when you’re drowning in a lake filled with cold black water, what’s the difference between .93 and 1 whole mile?

I’ve been riding bikes pretty much my whole life and I’m going to be OK there. At any given instant, I could ride 30 miles without thinking about it. The run will be a little challenging but I’ve got 5 more months to prepare and I’m going to be OK there, too.

Then there’s the swim. In my entire life, I’ve never done anything in the pool other than cannon balls off the high dive until this month. Today was my 4th day in the pool. It’s getting better (barely better) but what a seriously humbling experience this is! I’m kind of a fit guy but swimming is really hard for me. I can’t breathe, I get tired super fast and if there were 1000 people around me trying to kick me in the head, I’d probably panic.

But here’s the deal and this is why I’m sharing this story: to get from here to there, you have to start where you are. It’s just as simple as that.

For me, I have to learn to swim for 1 mile without stopping and I’ve got 5 months to do it.

On day 1, I was able to make it 25 meters (1 length of the pool) and then I stopped for 3 times longer than it took to get that far to catch my breath. On day 2, it got a little better. I managed to get in a a full lap before having to stop to catch my breath. Day 3 felt better but I still couldn’t swim any farther before taking breaks. Today, on day 4, I managed to swim 2 laps (100 meters) without stopping. One time I did that distance without stopping!

I might say something cliché like I feel like I’m a fish out of water but that’s just silly. It’s kind of the opposite. I feel like a human in the water.

So, whatever it is you are trying to accomplish (yes, I’m talking to you), you just have to start where you are, be patient and deliberate with the process and then plod along. Don’t expect instant results and don’t beat yourself up for something you think you should be able to do better. If it really is that easy, then you’re not challenging yourself. Which was the point in me taking on this fun little triathlon.

*Incidentally: being a dad to 16 month old twins and being a husband to my wife is really awesome and not at all challenging. How’s the expression go? Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life? It’s like that.

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