Meet Joe Vacek (a.k.a. looking in the mirror)

Joe Vacek, all dolled up

Joe Vacek teaches aviation law or something like that at the university here in Grand Forks.  He's a pretty good looking young guy and a reasonable athlete.  He does most of the events i put on and sometimes even places in them.  He's always smiling, a little bit cocky, but beyond that never really seemed like that much of a total bad ass.

I might have pegged him wrong though.  you see, Joe just got back from riding his bike across the united states.  no big deal there - sure it takes pretty good fitness (especially to do it in the time it took him which seemed fairly quick) - but lots of people go bike touring.  Good for Joe.  What surprised me, however, was when i got an email from him last night asking if there were still any solo swim spots left in the 27 mile downriver swim i'm putting on next weekend.

Here's a guy who's arms have atrophied over the previous two months - a guy i didn't even know knew how to swim - who seemingly casually enters a race that many of the people entering, people who have been training for months and have years of marathon swimming under their belts, probably won't finish.  And he thinks, with bravado, that he will.

Its like i'm looking in the mirror, only without the suit.

It's Joe's type of confidence (if it's real)  that i think allows us to get closest to our actual limit.  Because i think that you can do almost anything that you genuinely believe that you can.  And so if in Joe that bravado comes from a real deep seated confidence in his abilities - abilities (mental and physical) that he's tested over his years of life - then maybe he actually will finish.

Despite the fact that he hasn't swam in nearly three months.  And that before that he would swim less than a mile a few days a week at lunch.  This is my kind of guy.  My kind of challenge.

Joe - I for one will be rooting for you next weekend.  And if you don't finish, i for one won't think you were doomed from the start, or foolish for even thinking you might make it.  I think you can.

Don't embarrass me Joe, please?