I write this with Janice in mind, although it likely applies to nearly every endurance athlete I coach, train with, or compete against. We all start with some type of lofty goal; completing an Ironman, or cycling around Lake Michigan, or maybe trying to break some specific record (our own or someone else's). In Janice's case, she's swimming across Lake Mendota, as part of the Gills for Gilda's charity event. Lake Mendota is 6 miles across, so a swim of this magnitude is something very few of us will ever dare to confront.

Once the goal is set, the training plan is put in place, and the work begins, we usually feel a pleasing sense of determination and courage at the start of the journey. There are good training days, and there are bad training days, but inevitably, at some point in the weeks leading up to the Big Day (for me it usually happens the morning of), you suddenly find yourself anxiously wondering, "Wait ... Do I actually have to go through with this?"