Every stroke is a choice. It is an individual and personal decision whether or not you want to win or you want to lose. Whether it is 150 strokes, 200, or 5000, every single time you come up to the catch you have to decide. Because that conscious decision is the difference between first place and last place. Every time you come up to the catch and bring your oar back into the rushing water, you must push off and churn the water with every fiber of your being. No one else can do that for you and you have seven other brothers and/or sisters giving it their all for you.