Swimming is not my forte

Every time it's offered, I've signed up for an exercise program through the gym. The incentive for completion is a free t-shirt, but more than the prize, the project helps me to be motivated to stay active. The requirements are not so difficult that I ever feel seriously tempted to give up, and knowing that there's someone that I'm reporting my numbers to at the beginning of each week keeps me focused.

It consists of:

112 miles of cycling

154 meters of swimming

26.2 miles of running

over 8 weeks (or 4 for the ambitious, and 12 for the not so ambitious).

There is a rowing replacement for non-swimmers, and I chose to do that last semester, but to be honest, it made the whole program a little too easy. I like a tiny challenge, so swimming it is.

Except it's easily the most difficult for me of the three. I'm starting to get into an exercise groove, and while it's like I never took a break from running or cycling, there's a steep learning curve for swimming. A few reasons: I haven't swum since last fall, while I've ran/biked more recently; there's no music when I swim so it's boring; I never properly learned how to swim efficiently, despite lessons as a child?

It's a mental battle to get through a mere 30 lengths a session. 

But I always get there. No matter how much I want to stop, I keep going until I reach my goal.

Perhaps this discipline will strengthen me, both physically and whenever I hit other life obstacles.