The challenges presented to the enterprising swimmer with golden goals on their mind are very real.

The hurdles come in hot and chlorinated:

• The daily sharpening of the technical elements of your swimming.
• Battling the self-doubt and uncertainty when pushing yourself.
• Keeping your self-talk from going full-blown Negative Nelly when a practice is struggley.

The process of sculpting a champion performance can feel never-ending. Just a long, bottomless to do list.

Improve my dolphin kick. Eat better. Drink more water. Improve shoulder stability. Show up to more practices. Do more core work. Wash my towels. Give up less often on the main set. Do more threshold sets. Pull on the lane rope less.