Thought for the Day

Monday, October 12, 2009

DIY


You got to cross that River Jordan,
You got to cross it for yourself;
O there can't nobody cross it for you,
You got to cross it for yourself;

Those words from an old spiritual, sung by slaves on plantations before the Civil War, have profound meaning that can be broadly applied. There is the spiritual, religious meaning, but these spirituals were sometimes used as veiled ways for those held in slavery to sing about seeking freedom. There are many meanings to this song.
Since March of this year, I've consulted six different swim coaches. I have had as many as three different swim coaches writing workout schedules for me at one time. I've read swimming instructions from dozens of books, articles, and websites, and watched several demonstrations on web sites and DVDs. I've almost lost count of how many friends and acquaintances have given me advice.
All of this help has gotten me closer to actually doing a 2.4 mile open water swim in under two hours, which is what I have to do on the morning of November 22, Ironman morning. I'm grateful to everyone who has contributed to getting me this far.
But I haven't done it yet. It all comes down to me swimming. And swimming and swimming and swimming.
No one else can do it for me. I've got to do it for myself. It's a pretty simple idea, but an important one.

3 comments:

Anne Findlay said...

Jerry, just FYI you get 2:20 to finish the swim. Maybe you are shooting for <2, which is a good goal. But this has been the cutoffs for the 3 IM's I've done. I guess I should double-check. I'll be right there with you.

-Anne

Mike Fraser said...

Eye on the apple Jerry...even if it's on a string dangling in front of you or floating in the water just out of reach....don't take your eye off of it and you will get it. You will man. Keep up the hard work.

Jen said...

Jerry, you've got this! You're doing the work. Believe in yourself like we do. I wish I could be there with you guys but I'll be rootin for ya from the east coast!!

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