I'm never going to be Rocky

I recently blogged about 40 things I wanted to do this year to celebrate me turning 40 in July. One of the things I listed was to do an indoor triathalon. Chad does them all the time, in fact it was his idea to list that as one of my 40 things. Seemed reasonable at the time, so I put it on the list. Little did I know. Little did I know.

The very next morning, after my first cup of coffee (I don't usually start to function until after my second cup), "coach Chad" came bouncing out of the bedroom asking if I was "ready to start my training"?  Chad likes nothing better than coaching, and he's good at it. He coaches flag football, baseball, and swimming....for kids that is. Coaching me, however, is a different story. Chad is somewhat of an an athlete. I...am not. I don't "train" for things, I just kind of do them. IF I do anything at all.  I once ran a 5K for the Susan G. Komen race for the cure, and I thought I would die. Seriously. It was my first race, and it wasn't pretty. It kicked my asthma into overdrive and I was sick for weeks afterward. So me putting an indoor triathalon on my list of things to do, was done so on a whim. More to please him, than to please myself. So here we are, staring at each other in the living room- he in his workout clothes, and me in my jammies coffee still in hand. "Come, on we'll head up to the rec center and practice the swimming part" he says. Ugh. Swimming. I'm a runner, and I run because I enjoy it, not to compete. I am not a swimmer. Sure I'll splash around with the kids and hang out in the pool, but swim for exercise, like laps? No way. I don't enjoy that one bit, and then add my U.S. Swim Masters-coach husband to the mix barking orders of  everything I do wrong in the water equals a recipe for disaster.  I'm just trying to stay afloat! Swimming would surely be the hardest part of the triathalon for me.

Needless to say, after a sarcastic exchange of words, we ended up at the rec center. Swimming for twenty minutes straight with no break is a lot harder than it sounds. The banter beween the two of us wasn't pretty either. Chad was coaching like he was training Rocky, only I was Rocky. I ain't no Rocky. I whine, take breaks, take my time, stop and drink water....you catch my drift. After thirty minutes or so of "training", he called it quits. Apparently I won't be able to make a career out of being a competitive swimmer. Rats! But that brings me back to my list of 40 things, and the indoor triathalon I have listed on it. So, just to show him that I could indeed do an indoor triathalon, I signed up for one today. Good grief! What was I thinking? My pride got the best of me. That stupid pride that I have been trying so hard to get rid of. Now I have to swallow that pride and ask for his help training me, or I might find myself having to doggie paddle through the swimming part of the race. Stupid race. Stupid ugly swim cap he's going to make me wear. Stupid pride.

Proverbs 13:10 Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisom seeks advice

Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom