Why Oh Why do we tri? Ramblings from a tri wannabe

Below are just some ramblings from myself a tri wannabe.
Sometimes I wonder why I put the time and effort into myself through training for a tri.Age groupers like us will never turn pro and so there is no monetary incentive in doing this and neither would we become tops in the age group in our lifetime.
A typical schedule would be
run three times a week maybe more since I don,t have a bike and don't cycle
interval training
2*200m, 2*400m, 2*800m, 2*400m keeping at same speed throughput(trying to keep to 55sec for 200m but start to slack in the later part) and follow by other exercise or strength and endurance training such as pushup, dips, knee squats etc.
long runs
8 to 10km run follow by short 100m sprints at the end ...
Running is still alright for me although still can,t keep up with others at times.
swim twice a week maybe more
I am struggling to swim freestyle. although yes I have definitely improved a lot since joining a tri group but I still don,t breathe as easily and relaxed in the water as I want to. I would rather go for a 10km run anytime then to swim freestyle even for 200m..... No matter how tired I get from running I can always breathe freely but I just can,t do it in water exhaling breathing out when in water and breathing in only during the brief moment when my nose is out of the water.
Total mileage clocked each session can range from as low as 1500m to more than 2500m at times in the hope that all this will make me a better swimmer. And when it gets really unbearable I switched to breaststroke or back to my old bad habits of lifting the head high to catch more air and breathe easier....
Maybe we do it for fitness and health but there are lots of easier way to do so...Being jobless and unemployed maybe I do it for a alternative aim/objective in life since I,m now unemployable.
Every day in the news there are always people getting heart problems, high cholesterol and blood pressure,obesity due to our stressful, affluent and sedentary modern lifestyle.
"The highest rate of diabetics in the world belongs to Hong Kong with close to 12% of adult population(20-79) 1 out of every 10 adult Singaporean suffer from diabetics and 6 percent of all adult americans are diabetic"
What is it that make us want to subject ourselves to such training and putting ourselves through it. Is it because of the challenge or that it will make us a better man or a fitter person......to surpass one's limit and endure a higher threshold of pain....
I have always kept a positive altitude to training come rain or shine but I need some motivation here. Why Oh Why do we tri?