The 17th-century French philosopher René Descartes famously said, “I think; therefore I am.”

Because it seems that I mostly think while swimming – both in a pool, but especially in the open water – that statement has a collary in my swimming existence: “I swim; therefore I think.”

Similarly, when I first saw The Thinker created by 19th-century French sculptor Auguste Rodin, it was fascinating to observe this artwork representing deep contemplation and self introspection. The Thinker represented Dante, author of the Divine Comedy.  When struggling through rough or cold waters, The Thinker inspires me with its tortured physical body and free-thinking sould, determined to transcend his suffering through poetry – or in my case, swimming.

Likewise, Michelangelo’s creation of Lorenzo de’ Medici inspires me. The statue represents a man in self-reflection and deep thought, seated and ready for action. For me, it represents the times right before a tough or cold or long swim in the open water, when a swim requires strength and courage. Like the statue, swimmers must be physically ready for action – but the act of swimming concurrently requires reason and well thought out preparations on the part of the swimmers and their support teams.

15 years ago, I surveyed swimmers at an open water swimming conference and asked them what they thought about when swimming. These were some of their comments:

• “I think non-stop about my catch, pull through and back end finish every stroke.”
• “I think about my stroke — one at a time, in the moment I’m taking it, until I’m finished. My stroke thoughts are primary, conscious and explicit. Anything else that passes through my consciousness is momentary and mostly implicit.
• “When I swim I think about ALL kinds of things.”
• “I sing my favorite songs.”
• “I recite some poems that I know by heart.”
• “I fantasize about competition, winning for example, or I imagine I am swimming across the English Channel and I am about to arrive in France soon.”
• “I count my strokes in a foreign language, either Spanish or Chinese.”
• “Sometimes I think about family or friends or everyday issues that cross my mind.”
• “When I am swimming in competition (triathlon), I usually only think about the race, checking the position of my competitors, trying to stay on course and keeping up the pace.”
• “I also think about the landscape around me, as usually I swim in freshwater, and how lucky I am to be out there swimming.”
• “Not drowning.”
• “I think about the event, my life, hope I don’t have any animal contact, worry about running into jellies and other things, think about my dad, wonder if I will ever get faster.”
• “I think about keeping up with my friends, I think about how I think I am enjoying myself after I actually forget about the shark.”
• “Just enjoying the experience, taking in the feel of the water, how my muscles feel, the taste of the salt, the sun on the water. Of course, there are those times when I have a horrible pop song stuck in my head that gets played over and over again!”
• “I think and picture all my friends and family waiting for me and cheering for me on the shore.”

© Daily News of Open Water Swimming

“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“