Iron Chad!

It all started after I swam the 2000 m non-stop a few weeks ago. I got home and told Leslie that I did it and it went really well, and I thought I could do the full Ironman swim of 3800m non-stop. Leslie responded by saying that 2000 is a lot different than 3800m. Being a little bit stubborn, and maybe a bit competitive, I took it as her saying that just because I did 2000m I couldn't do 3800m. She might of called me a 'goggle waste' in there too, even though she claims I called myself that!

There it was a challenge, with myself. Since then I have been itching to give it a shot. Two problems though. Number one, I know it would take me longer than a hour and a half to swim it, therefore I would have to go to the pool and cough up the $12.50 drop in fee rather than the $5 I usually pay for the last hour and a half. Secondly, when would I ever feel like swimming for that long?

On Saturday afternoon Leslie got home from her haircut and told me she was going to hop on the bike for a 1 hour 40 minute ride. I had already taken Rexy to the off leash park, watched some tv and was kind of getting bored and didn't feel like sitting around anymore. Off to the pool I go.

I jumped in. No warm up. I thought to myself, now or never, you already paid the $12.50 cheap ass, take advantage of it. I started swimming. 3.8 km is equal to 152 lengths in a 25 m pool, so I decided to count up. By the time I got to 52 lengths I felt great, already 1/3 done, no problem! I kept going.

I found counting up kind of was getting boring so at 100 left I decided to count down. 90, 80, 70 left. It kept going, then BAM! Leslie told me that at about 2.5 km things start to suck. Boy was she right. I remember thinking at 41 lengths left that I would never finish. My arms started to get so heavy that I really wasn't even lifting them out of the water and I started flopping around with my body and legs. Kept going though.

I had a little voice in my head, it kind of reminded me of this Iron Fist triathlon coach I know. It kept saying 'efficiency, efficiency, efficiency'. I tried to keep everything in the proper places, controlled my flapping legs and tried to keep my elbows high out of the water. Before I knew it I had only 10 lengths left.

I won't lie, those 10 lengths felt like FOREVER! I am happy to report though, 1 hour and 36 minutes after I started, I completed 3.8 km, an official Ironman race distance swim, non-stop! Wasting no time I hopped out of the pool, so dizzy that I nearly fell over from the vertigo of being horizontal the whole time. Strait to the hot tub.

I think I sat in the hot tub barely keeping my head up and eyes open for a good 20 minutes or more (I'm still kind of woozy at this point). I finally started feeling human again then showered and headed home, a champion!!!!!!

Whoa, that was tough! I can't fathom that you still have to hop on a bike for a good 5 or 6 hours after, then run a good 5 hours after that. Mind you, that is what I said about the swim a mere three months ago when I couldn't even swim to the other end of the pool, ONCE! I've come a long way, and I'm pretty excited about that! Thanks Greg! What really boggled my brain, is that I asked Leslie (pro swimmer) how many times she has swam 3.8 km and she told me only once, in Ironman Canada last year! As for my time, I'm pretty happy with it. Leslie was about 1 hour 20 minutes last year and Greg and Darryl were just under a hour and 10 minutes I believe (sorry, if I'm wrong!). The cut off time for Ironman Canada is something like 2 1/2 hours, so I for sure would have made that!

All in all, not a bad day. My neck hurt later, I had a bad headache that night, and I was so tired I could barely function for the rest of the night, but Sunday I felt fine!

With a strong desire, coupled with commitment, you CAN achieve anything! From 0 km to 3.8 km in 3 months. I hope this inspires all of you as much as it did myself!

1/3 Iron Grizz