Rise & Grind

Since my last post it’s just been a grind~no two ways about it.

It’s cold and dark outside and the snow won’t go away. Work is a grind and getting up at 5:00am is getting old. I drag my sorry butt in the dark to a pool and wait in the parking lot for the pool doors to open. It’s a grind.

(MIT Z-Center)

(Wayland Community Pool)

In the just over a month of returning home from Iceland I have put in hours and hours in the pool and over 119,450 yards or 68 miles. There has also been three workouts of 10,000 yards or more.

Getting in the pool early, staring at a black line lap after lap and staying in the pool after everyone leaves can be mentally and physically grueling and grinding.

I read a quote in the midst of this grind that has helped keep me somewhat in check.

“Motivation is what gets us started…good habits keep us going…and consistent hard work leads to success.”

In the end I know that putting the work in now will eventually lead to success in the future.

A huge high point of getting up early is going to the pool to see my friends. I am fortunate that whether I am at Wayland High School or MIT I have great bunch of lane mates. Our conversations are short and can be disjointed but we do have great fun and laughs. My friends at the pool are one of the things that help keep me motivated and moving forward.

As I exit the Wayland pool there are two wooden plaques that I tap with my fist and try too internalize before I start the day.