I love having swum

Photo: Andreas Hansson

In two days, my wife and I will compete in Vansbrosimningen, a classic 3,000-meter swim race in Dalarna, Sweden. Last night, the organizers decided to shorten the race to half that on account of the water being 13°Celsius (55 Farenheit), which leads to the obvious question – why swim this race at all? Why pay good money and waste a whole day just to be insanely cold for an hour in the water, then chilly an additional 2-3 hours afterwards? It’s not as if you make new friends or gain new insights.
The answer, as everyone knows who has competed in anything, is the feeling after you’re done. Dorothy Parker said “I hate writing, I love having written.” The same goes for Vansbro. I hate swimming in freezing cold water, I love having swum in freezing cold water. And the worse of a time you have, the more alive you feel when it’s over.
Or is that just my brain tricking me into feeling good to rationalize my choice of action in the first place?