I had already won a medal in the 400 free and it had been an exceptional race which I had swam deeply in the zone.
I didn’t feel like I had a chance at medaling but, my best friend and training partner, Nicholas Perron was swimming right next to me and there was no way I was going to let him beat me.
Although, by the time the race started I had reached an altered state of consciousness, I wasn’t as deep into it as I had been in the 400 free.
Time was moving differently than normal, lighting in the building was brighter/hazier and my inner chatter was quiet. I was racing but it felt like I was somewhere else than in the pool.
This all changed during the last 10 meters of the breaststroke. With 10 meters left in the breaststroke, Nicholas passed beside me…in freestyle!
That really shook me and took me out of where ever I had been. I didn’t know if I could get him or not, he was 20 some meters ahead of me by the time I started my freestyle, but I knew I couldn’t wait until the last 25 to sprint. To get him I had to unleash the beast from the first freestyle stroke.
I don’t know how I found the energy, as I had not been swimming slow in the first 300, but I ended up catching up to him and out touching him at the end. My split was 59.? It was quite impressive to finish a 400 IM under the minutes long course for me at the time.
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