Zeusblog

“Pain is our friend”

That’s what is embroidered on the t-shirt of our swim coach, Paul Doyle. Apparently it’s the motto of his masters swim squad (Cally Masters). It made me laugh at 6am this morning. Actually he wasn’t too hard on us – but I still got in 4k before breakfast, which was plenty for me. I’ve now added “pain is my friend” to my list of motivational mantras, which are to be called upon and repeated in your head when working very hard in the pool, on the bike, or when I’m running and the urge to quit seems irresistible.

Others include the obvious, but effective, “I WILL NOT QUIT”, and Lance Armstrong’s “Suck it up” or “Pain is temporary, quitting is forever” or even “Is that all you got?” directed at a competitor or the pain itself (focussed boy Lance is!). And when I really need a kick up the backside, there’s always Winston Churchill to fall back on: “When you are going through hell, keep going”.

Works for me

Chalky