Swimming is a high-intensity sport that requires extreme dedication and discipline in order to be successful. Swimming is an individualistic sport by nature, which makes it stand out among other sports. Athletes who play soccer, basketball, baseball, etc. rely on each other when performing, whereas with swimming, everything is on you. It is you against the clock and though there can certainly be a strong team dynamic to back you up, when it comes down to it, you are performing in your own lane at your own pace. Just you and the black line below you. That’s it.

Swim practices can be excruciatingly painful, tiring, and overwhelming. To make matters worse, you are on your own. Many times you are forced to just keep your head down and swim for thousands of yards without any outside human conversation. Therefore, you are left alone with your thoughts. Not every swimmer is the same, of course, but I assure you that every swimmer has experienced these lingering thoughts during all those never-ending practices.

1. "When will it be over??"

Yes, swimming back and forth for two hours is actually as boring as it sounds.

2. "I hate everyone in my lane."

Don’t you just love it when EVERYONE in your lane decides to put you first so that they can just drag off of you?

3. "The bottom of the pool is disgusting."

Hairballs. Everywhere.

4. Some annoying part of an annoying song playing on repeat.

Singing the same part of a song in your head is torture enough, but when your coach chooses what to play during practice and has bad taste in music, it makes it a lot worse.

5. "If I drown myself, would I be able to get out?"

We’ve all considered this. It seems silly when you think about it now, but there are moments of practice that you literally would rather be dead than swimming.

6. "I could be sleeping right now."

Waking up at 5:30 am to throw yourself into a cold pool is agonizing. Most of the time, practices are over before half the people on campus even wake up.

7. Contemplating every single aspect of your life.

Thinking leads to overthinking, which leads to a panic attack about everything that could possibly be stressing you out at that exact moment.

8. "I'm SO hungry."

Food is usually the sole motivation for getting through practice.

9. "I'm in so much pain."

My legs are numb. My arms are sore. My ear hurts. My goggles are popping my eyes out of their sockets. I have a cramp. Pretty sure I lost a finger when I jammed it into the lane line. Or I lost an arm swimming butterfly and hitting it into the person swimming in the lane next to me.

10. "Why did I have to choose to swim?"

It’s the sport we love to hate, but deep down, we do have a passion for it. And although practices may be torture and sometimes the pain and soreness may not seem worth it, we always end up waking up and doing it all again the next day. Because in the end, it is worth it.