Six months ago, my mate Danny sent me a link. «You should do this,» he wrote. It was a sprint triathlon — 750 metres of swimming, 20 kilometres on the bike, and a 5K run. I looked at it for about ten seconds and thought: I am going to regret this. Then I signed up anyway.
The training was brutal. I was already running and cycling from my rehab. Swimming was different. I hadn’t done serious swimming since school. So for three months, I trained every single morning: swim on Mondays and Wednesdays, bike on Tuesdays and Thursdays, run on Fridays. I told myself: in six months, I will be ready. I wasn’t sure I believed it, but I said it anyway.
The night before the race, I was lying in bed thinking about the swim. I am not a confident swimmer — open water is completely different from a pool. I will be swimming in a lake at seven in the morning, I thought. In October. In England. Brilliant.
Race morning arrived. It was cold and grey — typically British. I stood at the water’s edge in my wetsuit, watching the other athletes get ready. Some of them looked incredibly fit. Some looked as terrified as I felt. Then the starting gun fired. And everything started.
The swim was hard. I swallowed a lot of lake water. But I made it out. The bike leg was where I felt strong — all those months of cycling paid off. I was overtaking people on the hills, which I did not expect. Then came the run. By kilometre three, my legs felt like concrete. I told myself: I am going to finish this. Two more kilometres. Just two more.
I crossed the finish line in two hours and fourteen minutes. Not fast. Not slow. Just finished. My legs gave way and I sat down on the grass. A volunteer wrapped a foil blanket around me. Danny ran over and handed me a banana. «Well?» he said. I looked at him. «Next year,» I said, «I ‘ll do the full distance.»
«I am going to finish this.» — Strong personal intention during the race.
Form: am/is/are + going to + base verb
«I’ll do the full distance.» — Spontaneous decision at the finish line.
Form: will + base verb (‘ll in spoken English)
Form: will be + verb-ing
| Form | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| going to ✓ | Plans, intentions, predictions based on evidence | «I am going to regret this.»«She is going to win — look how fast she is!» |
| will ✓ | Predictions, promises, spontaneous decisions, offers | «I will be ready.»«I know — I‘ll do the full distance next year!» |
| Future Continuous | Action in progress at a specific future time | «I will be swimming in a lake at 7am.»«This time tomorrow, I‘ll be crossing the finish line.» |
| Key difference: going to vs will |
going to = already decided/evidence · will = at the moment of speaking | «I ‘m going to have pasta tonight.» (already decided)«Oh, you’re hungry? I‘ll make something.» (decided now) |