7:50 a.m. (+ 40 minutes)

My sight was at the surface of the water and there was nothing in front of me but the aqua blue Mediterranean and the horizon. I had no way of knowing if I was swimming off course. I was lost in a very big blue sea.

(Did you panic?)

No, but I had to silence the voices in my head screaming at me, “DO SOMETHING, WE’RE LOST!”

(That sounds like panicking to me)

Well…you are the voices inside my head.

(Was the music still playing in your head?)

Yup, that’s what I did to refocus myself. Thinking of the music I had trained to help me to stop looking up every time I turned to breathe. I needed to trust myself that I was where I was supposed to be at that moment.  If I started looking around my body would fall out of proper swim form. Keeping your head down makes you streamline and that makes you faster.

(I don’t understand)

If you are constantly looking up, your legs become submerged and act like an anchor.

Like Dora said, “Just keep swimming.” So that is what I did. Soon I saw…

(A buoy?)

Nope, no such luck.

(A dolphin?)

No, that would have been symbolic luck. I saw a man on a surfboard.

(There to rescue you?)

No, just to guide me. Since he wasn’t telling me to change direction, I knew that I was headed in the right direction.

8:02 a.m. (+ 52 minutes)

I passed another buoy.

(Turn to shore?)

Not yet, I still had another 500 meters to go before I could do that, but at least I was swimming towards that turning point and not off course.

8:14 a.m. (+ 1 hour, 4 minutes)

I reached the last turn buoy. Now it was time to swim for shore. I had been swimming for over an hour and I started to feel a burning sensation.

(A cramp?)

No, it was like a sunburn…but on my abdomen, which had been submerged the whole time. I would learn later that I had been bitten by jellyfish, twice.

8:26 a.m. (+1 hour, 16 minutes)

I passed another 500-meter mark buoy. I stole a glance as I turned to breathe at the shoreline I was aiming for. I was still too far from shore to make out the inflated “Swim Finish” arch. When I describe the race distances for an Ironman, inevitably someone will say, “I can do the swim. I love swimming.” Nothing makes me happier than to see people take on a challenge and find that they have strengths they didn’t realize before.  I’m a teacher, encouraging others is what I love to do. Just remember, this is 80 to 120 minutes of straight swimming.

(Can you stop?)

You can stop, but the clock won’t. You have to be out of the water in under 2 hours and 20 minutes. After over 75 minutes of swimming, I was beginning to feel fatigue in my arms.

I wanted to sprint, but 500 meters was another 10 minutes of swimming and my arms were running out of gas.

(What does that feel like?)

It’s a slow burning sensation in my shoulders and triceps. Try holding your hand, palms up, extended in front of you. Let me know when the burn starts to kick in for you.

8:32 a.m. (+1 hour, 22 minutes)

250 meters to go. It was time to “hammer it.” Each “pull” through the water of my hands was straining my arms and shoulders.

8:34 a.m. (+1 hour, 24 minutes)

100 meters to go. I could see the inflated arch of the finish as I turned to breathe. I was starting to hyperventilate from pushing this hard.

8:35 a.m. (+1 hour, 25 minutes)

50 meters to go. I could hear the cheering crowds and the announcer every other second as I turned to breathe and my ear broke the surface of the water.

Getting lightheaded from hyperventilating…

8:36 a.m. (+1 hour, 26 minutes)

I grabbed the hand of a volunteer and I was pulled from the water…

David Roher is a USAT certified triathlon and marathon coach. He is a multi-Ironman finisher and veteran special education teacher. He is on Instagram @David Roher140.6. He can be reached at [email protected].