SHARK!

when i was about 5 or 6 my parents enrolled me into swimming class at the country club.
each lesson was a 2 hour affair which took place twice a week.

they were led by a dark leathery man in a wetsuit called vincent, whose patience and life-saving skills, a gaggle of splashing 6 to 8 year olds felt unremmitingly compelled to test.

towards the end of every lesson uncle vincent made us work on building our stamina by making us do laps to and fro the length of the olympic pool. They started with 10, and then 20. By the time I was 8, I was doing 30-40 frogger style pulls across the perfectly rectangular pond at the end of every class.

the problem with laps is that repetition makes them boring. so over time i developed tactics that made the experience of doing something so goddamn monotonous more fun and interesting.

i began swimming with my eyes shut. and in the darkness of my sealed lids, id imagine myself being chased by a great white. the thought was deliciously thrilling. as simultaneous shoots of panic and lactic acid made me clock my laps in less time. arms legs thrashing in desperate attempt to flee an invisible phantom.

the great white chased me for another 2 more years and then i quit swimming lessons with uncle vincent altogether.

swimming repetitive laps and running isnt that different. u are essentially doing the same thing. keeping your limbs moving in a uniform sequence.

alot of people complain running is boring. as is swimming.

unlike other sports these activities do not entail your mind and body to constantly react to, defend or attack external agents. its persistently monotonous and maybe because of that, it allows those who do it to be more introspective or in my case of my 8 year old self, more creative and imaginative.