Making the 40/40
Not One Second Late
Get to the Choppa
I hope you are on that Choppa
If you can think it you can have it - if you can see it you can grab it
With the formula of fives
We can easily do 36-40
Just like the other sets
36 is kickboard
37 is just being honest
38 is half honest half lazy
39 is just being honest
40 is half honest half lazy
Let's wrap around again and think about the start
On some days, lap number eight is not considered warm
If you are not warm
And you attempt to move
To the next part of the workout
The results can be catastrophic
Any injury is an unfortunate and untimely injury
That is especially true when an injury is self-inflicted
Making my 40 in 40 doesn't just happen - it is the supreme result
Of an extremely well prepared symphony of training and conditioning
The last time I tried it under strict conditions, I broke my record-at-the-time
That time was right at 43 minutes for the 40 laps
I didn't make it to da choppa - choppa left me
No glory - no town love - no MoneyPenny
It was pretty close but still around 10% deficient
I wasn't tripping about having missed the time
Even though someone else was clocking me
I was excited for having come in after 40 laps with no body pain
Dude complimented me, said I don't look tired and I do look happy
I can clearly remember during my first ten laps that it didn't feel right
There was something about that night where I didn't warm up properly
I was trying to go too fast at the start and that blew my whole time
Then later in the workout I wasn't able to properly sprint at the end
Chalk it up to experience and go back to practicing at half capacity
That was quite an evening because someone was timing me
There is extra performance pressure under those circumstances
I made some mental errors - mostly I should have gone slower in the beginning
I make 45-48 minutes quite often - anything beyond that is not worthy of mention
In my state of condition, making 40 laps in 45 minutes is not big accomplishment
Doing that kind of distance in the near past would have been completely unthinkable
That was largely from injuries yet also because of my state of training and stamina
Now with the understanding that 40/40 doesn't actually happen for me at all
I come back gleefully to game the system each time
Yet I also recognize that 40/40 was still a stretch goal
During most of the time that I was writing this book
Stretch goals are annoying to me when I get them from others
When I get them from myself, this is how I do stay hungry
Creating a stretch goal provides the impetus for creating innovation
Innovation has many parts to it and some of them are condoned cheating
I don't cheat on the end time but a great cheat is padding the start time
This is beyond ridiculous but it's truly an effective way to stay engaged
Imagine you're at the start of the race and you start running before everyone else
This hack began in a gym that was strict and inflexible about reserving the swim lane
I found that if I was observant and willing to take risks
I could sneak into the pool about 10 minutes ahead of time
This only worked when the person before me was done 10 minutes early
Keeping an eye on this made me opportunistic and that kept me hungry
This is what originally pushed me from 30 laps in 30 minutes to 40 laps in 40 minutes
The unseen trickery was that I was suddenly able to do 30 laps in 40 minutes
Restated: I found it motivating to sneak into the pool a good 10-20 minutes early
In that way I would start the lap-tally counter before starting the choppa timer
See how easy that was? That is how I improved 10 minutes without improving at all
I snuck into the pool and hacked the system that was otherwise being so rigid
Doing that changed my mind about what is possible - it reinforced success
Yes technically my time had not changed that day
The magic happened on days after that
Soon I started thinking, "I can do this"
Soon after that I was doing it
It doesn't happen in a day
How hilarious, for someone like me
A person who is so accustomed
To following all the rules
I just gave myself 15 free minutes off the clock
It was as easy as using training aides for my own benefit
It was as easy as changing strokes midway in any of my ongoing laps
This hack was way better than cheating on a diet or clocking in early
Please keep in mind I am not endorsing being a cheater in life - no future in it
What I was doing with that - was temporarily bending the rules for my own benefit
It was a way to come to believe in myself and believe my abilities could develop further
When we first attempt to hit an unhittable goal
We need to juice the system to feel the victory
My first way of doing that was to rig the clock
Done! I earned all of that! Chalk it up brother
Now that all the warmup laps were giving me credit but didn't cost me time
It was my first real taste of what it was like to be on that choppa - silly but true
Necessity is the mother of invention and I'd say that was a victimless crime
We can do this all day! I might have been anywhere during that lap 0-15
But instead of being anywhere I was in the pool working on that goal
Right in that first minute - I was calling that "getting a rolling start"
That silly hack parlayed me into successfully doing my first 30 in 30
That boosted my confidence - that confidence became an identity
Later I had no further need to cut that corner or gain that edge
Doing so helped me to relax and settle into the success of it
This must sound weird - you're swimming in that water either way
So who really cares if you fake your first ten minutes
I don't know what will motivate you
Falsely bragging to myself helped
Swimming is an individual sport and that can be lonely
Play with it - manipulate the starting and finish lines
Do it for your sanity - make sure you're set up to win
You've got to have things to think about or you'll go mad!
There are so many things to consider - have fun with it
Let's create some extra ways to be victorious
This is another way to experience abundance
We are in a healthy state
This is not done for others
It's not a sign of poor integrity
There is no one watching
No need for silly resentment
It's just like cheating on "one continuous stroke"
If you want to effectively lead and manage yourself
Do it with carrot not the whip - you're precious cargo
We can get more from ourselves with funny boosts
There is no punishment for missing our own goals
There is however, glory in hitting them for ourselves..
Watch how quickly you cut time once you get in the habit of simple doing that distance
In the beginning, there is no 20 in 20, no 30 in 30 or 40 in 40
There is only doing those 15-40 laps, however long in takes
Or doing those 20 minutes and don't care distance
Later, we add the imaginary supporting story line about having to make the distance
Before the chopper leaves us in Guam, or the town fails - it makes for a livelier story