Signed up for my first long swim and after hearing the reaction from family and friends (haven't told anyone at work yet), I'm wondering how other people respond when you tell them that you're going to do a swim.
Here's some of what I got:
"Why on earth would you want to do something like that?"
"You're nuts!"
"You could drown!"
"That's so dangerous!"
"You'd better get your will done first."
"What are you thinking? You have a family!"
"You could get eaten by a shark..."
"The jellyfish will get you..."
"People invented boats and bridges to get across rivers, we're not supposed to swim across them."
"Are you going to use a gas mask?"
"The water's so polluted, you are going to get sick."
"If you want to swim, can't you do it in the pool where it's safe?"
Only one person said "That's awesome, you must be in great shape."
Do you get similar responses? And how do you answer them? I'm beginning to wonder what the rest of the world thinks of us...
I like to tell people that I'm more afraid of flying to get to a swim than getting in the water. And that I only race in places where the sharks are well fed.
I used to race triathlon and whenever I would say that, people would say, of sprints at least, "Oh, I could probably do that." Not one person has said that about swim races!
Last year, I got stung by a man of war in a race, and people really think I'm nuts now. I particularly liked the neighborhood rumor that there was an olympic swimmer on the block. I tried to perpetuate that as long as possible...
I like to tell people that I'm more afraid of flying to get to a swim than getting in the water. And that I only race in places where the sharks are well fed.
I used to race triathlon and whenever I would say that, people would say, of sprints at least, "Oh, I could probably do that." Not one person has said that about swim races!
Last year, I got stung by a man of war in a race, and people really think I'm nuts now. I particularly liked the neighborhood rumor that there was an olympic swimmer on the block. I tried to perpetuate that as long as possible...
