Compared To Who?

We all did it. We compared ourselves to other swimmers. We looked up at other swimmers who were way faster than us, and said, "How do they do that?" I know I have done it... In fact, I used to on a daily basis. I would look up at the swimmers in the next lane, even the ones in my own, and wonder how they made the sendoffs just fine while I struggled. Then I would watch them at meets as if they were gods, and a little pain of jealousy would creep up on me. I finally asked myself, “Who am I comparing myself to?” I was comparing myself to a boy who had been swimming his entire life and had a massive body of muscle. I had been swimming for about a year and a half. I had almost no athletic background when I came onto the team. The fact that I was comparing myself to these faster swimmers was ridiculous. Compare yourself to your former self. Do not compare yourself to others. Do not compare yourself to where you were a week ago or even a month ago. Compare yourself to where you were a year ago. If swimming is still quite new for you, compare yourself to where you were on your first day. Don’t just compare your records, compare sets and distances you used to struggle with. Compare technique change, and compare your growing body strength. Swimming is about delayed gratification. All the small changes add up to one big heap of improvement. There is an article I read called, “Who Cares if You Run Slow?” by Jeff Gaudette. You can find it on the website, “Triathlete Europe”. Geared towards runners, the article can easily be related to swimmers. The truth is that running, or swimming in our case, has no difference between faster swimmers and slower swimmers, other than their records are shorter and they may go to state meets. That moment when you have a hand on the wall with ten seconds to go until the next sendoff, and you watch the hand get closer all too fast as your heart pounds and your breathing is like an old time locomotive. That moment is the same for every swimmer. Whether you break 1:00 or 1:20 in your hundred yard free, that moment of triumph is the same. When you are in a race, whether it be the fastest heat or the slowest heat, and you see your opponent gaining on you in the next lane, and you surge ahead, that moment is also the same. Who are you comparing yourself to?

***

This is a guest post from Martina K. Martina first became involved in swimming when she was a lifeguard at age sixteen. After moving to Oregon when she was 18, she joined a swim team at a late age. She loves sharing her passion for swimming with the whole world through writing and her drive to achieve her goals. You can connect with her on Twitter.