When you’re starting a 10.5 mile swim, it’s easy to think about the totality of the effort.
Endless questions fill your head – How long will it take? What if the wind picks up? What if I can’t make it? What if I lose the kayaker? What if my body gives out?
I’ve heard anxiety described as “worrying about the future,” and there’s certainly a lot of that out there in the water.
The right approach is to think only about the next stroke.
Then the next one.
Then the next one.
Then breathe.
Then the next stroke.
And the next.
And the next.
Then breathe.
I imagined our route from Cave Rock to Emerald Bay in my mind, then realized all that mattered was the next stroke.
