25 Reasons Swimming is a Love-Hate Relationship: Celebrate Valentine's Day + Win!

With Cupid aiming his arrow at February 14, we’ve got one true love on our mind—swimming. As swimmers, we devote countless hours to the sport. We develop a strong passion that fuels us day in and day out. We unknowingly put the sport before our own wants and needs. We create unforgettable memories and unbreakable bonds. We put our entire heart into the sport of swimming. Sounds a lot like love, right?

Sure, we love swimming—if we didn’t, would we really be jumping into water in near-freezing weather? But every swimmer will be the first to admit, with that undying love, there’s a little bit of hate.

Swimming is the true essence of a love-hate relationship. Here are 25 reasons why;

1. We love to eat, but hate practicing for hours on end to the point of starvation
2. We love the sun-kissed skin, but hate the inevitable tan lines
3. We love our teammates, but hate it when they beat us
4. We love our coaches, but hate when they makes us swim the 200M fly
5. We love pulling on the lane lines, but hate jamming our fingers into them
6. We love the Lochte-Phelps rivalry, but hate having to choose a favorite
7. We love swim meets, but hate the two-a-days leading up to them
8. We love missing a week of practice, but hate how out of shape we feel when we return
9. We love the water, but hate the chlorine
10. We love to taper, but hate when tapering is over
11. We love the feeling of accomplishment after a morning swim, but hate waking up early
12. We love relays, but hate when someone false starts
13. We love leading the lane, but hate when we don’t know what we’re doing
14. We love the adrenaline we get stepping up to the blocks before a race, but hate when we realize who we’re up against
15. We love painting our nails in team colors, but hate when it chips after one practice
16. We love using kickboards, but hate when coach yells at us for chatting
17. We love flip turns, but hate when our heels slam into the wall
18. We love dolphin dives, but hate cool downs
19. We love ultimate frisbee, but hate dryland
20. We love sharks and minnows, but hate that it never happens
21. We love the infamous swimmer bun, but hate when we have to wash our hair
22. We love tech suits, but hate putting them on
23. We love Missy Franklin, but hate that she’s not our best friend
24. We love our time at the pool, but hate when we don’t have time for anything else
25. We love swimming, and we love to hate it at the same time!

Regardless of how much we complain, at the end of the day swimming will always have a “pizza” our heart (did we mention that we love pizza, too?).

Win a Ryan Lochte Autographed Speedo Cap!

Tell us one thing you love (and hate) about swimming in the comments below and you’ll be entered to win an autographed Ryan Lochte cap courtesy of Speedo!

[Note: Only one entry per person, all entries must be received by Friday, February 20 at 11:59pm PT. One winner selected at random.]