Swichio Blog Playing Chicken with an iPod

I showed up to the pool this afternoon and turned on my iPod to get ready for a long continuous swim by myself. The iPod was blinking it's little red light at me telling me that it was feeling exactly how I was feeling, unmotivated and unsure how long I would last. Afternoon workouts are tough. All my motivation leaves by mid-morning. Swim workouts without company are tough. It's just too easy to say, "that's good enough" when you don't have other people holding you accountable. Swim workouts are even tougher when there are no sets and intervals to break up the swim. I was there and ready to go which is half the battle. I hopped in the pool and started my long, continuous swim with my fingers crossed that my iPod would keep playing. After a few laps, I threw down a challenge to my tired, little iPod. I decided to play Chicken with my iPod. Who would stop first? Me or the iPod? I was impressed with the fight my iPod put up. I wasn't expecting it to last more than 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, it continued to play. It must be just as stubborn as me. It wasn't willing to give in. After each song, there was a moment of silence before the next song started playing and each time I thought it was the iPod folding...but it kept playing. I spent several laps trying to figure out what my victory dance would look like when I won this game and how silly I would look to the poor unsuspecting people around me who had no idea what battle was being waged under the water. Lap after lap, I kept going even though my eyeballs felt like my goggles would pop them out of my head.1 hour and 3600 yards later, it ended up being a draw. My kid zone time had expired. But don't worry, little green machine. There will be another dual in the pool. What tricks have you used as an endurance athlete to get your workout done?