Ben Beard Is on a Quest to Assist Others by Swimming the English Channel
Proper now, 35-year-old Ben Beard of Las Cruces, NM, is busy managing his residence development and gross sales firm, whereas additionally juggling intense prep for the problem of a lifetime. Beard is elevating cash with a view to assist younger individuals attain their instructional and enterprise potential, and can bravely swim the English Channel in support of The Grant Cardone Basis. Impressed, and desperate to learn the way the enterprise man, and father of 4, is preparing for such an epic problem, M&F took a ‘deep dive’ into his motivations and coaching forward of this final check of energy and endurance.
Swimming the English Channel isn’t any imply feat. The slim 21 mile (32 kilometer) stretch of water, between the southern coast of England and the northern fringe of France endures changeable climate and as such, completion occasions fluctuate wildly because of the particular person athlete’s personal means and the unpredictable setting that they need to battle by way of. The common swim time, nonetheless, is 13 hours, 33 minutes, and 54 seconds whereas a file of 6 hours and 55 minutes has been held by Australia’s Trent Grimsey since 2012.
So then, the primary query is straightforward: What attracts knowledgeable man like Beard to throw himself into the deep finish like this? “I first learn Grant Cardone’s books; ‘The 10X Rule’ and ‘Be Obsessed or Be Common’ in 2017,” he says. “At the moment, I used to be making ready to start out my enterprise; Crimson Cliff Houses. I had approached some land sellers with a small thought to get my enterprise began. Then, after their lukewarm reception, I spotted that perhaps I wanted to go larger to make the deal extra engaging to them, so I actually adopted the teachings I had learn, and multiplied by pitch by 10. This led to me getting began by myself within the residence constructing enterprise, and allowed me to scale up shortly, closing 27 properties my first 12 months in enterprise.”
Having gained a lot perception from the Grant Cardone Basis, a non-profit group that goals to offer profession steering and academic sources, notably to the younger and weak, Beard felt the necessity to pay it ahead, and set himself a goal of elevating $50,000 for the trigger. Right here’s how he’s gone from land developer to lengthy distance swimmer.
Rekindling Previous Passions
Ben Beard selected to swim the English Channel, partly, as a option to rekindle an previous ardour. Properly, they do say that you need to observe your internal compass! He started swimming in highschool the place, initially, he wasn’t a fan of distance swimming however having caught with it, additionally holding a toe in throughout school, Beard realized that stepping into the water was not simply a good way to remain in bodily form, as he felt a variety of psychological advantages too. “I benefit from the probability to close out the world and simply swim,” he says. “It’s type of like meditation for me, with the possibility to clear my head whereas working my physique to the purpose of exhaustion. Chilly water provides to the head-clearing side of swimming and likewise tends to make me hyper conscious of my physique, in order that I can deal with which muscle groups are sore and any slight inside temperature adjustments that my physique goes by way of throughout lengthy swims.”
Via his latest coaching, Beard says that he’s realized that swimming the channel isn’t purely a bodily problem, noting that additionally it is “about psychological toughness to face up to the chilly, the monotony, and loneliness.”
Placing within the Hours
The entrepreneur gained’t be rocking as much as the English Channel unprepared and has been coaching for 3-years to make this swim regardless of the calls for of a busy day job. Lengthy distance swimming requires nice stamina and cardio vascular conditioning. “I preserve a operating complete of hours swam every month in my planner, to make it possible for I’m staying on monitor with my coaching targets,” he says. “I’ve had plenty of journey for work over the previous few months, so I’ve needed to be diligent about wanting forward of time for locations to swim whereas on work journeys. Many gyms provide a brief trial interval, and this has been very useful, and native metropolis recreation amenities are additionally nice locations to coach more often than not. I additionally deliver operating garments with me to get in a run if I gained’t be capable to swim. Final week, I acquired caught in dangerous climate whereas flying and ended up having an surprising 7-hour layover. The late arrival that night time meant that I might not be capable to swim earlier than my work conferences, so I modified garments within the airport rest room, discovered a non-public spot to stash my baggage, and went on a 2-mile run within the airport!”
Making the Weight
“I realized after signing-up that marathon swimming isn’t a 6-pack and ripped muscle groups type of sport,” says Beard. “Most profitable channel swimmers are pretty heavy, and those who aren’t will usually have to placed on weight with a view to face up to the cold-water temperatures; anticipated to be roughly 60 F on the time of my swim. So, I’ve been deliberately gaining weight over the past 12 months.”
Since Beard is swimming quite a bit in his coaching, he’s burning a ton of energy, so gaining weight is a problem. He’s countered this with “calorie restoration” meals after lengthy swims. He will even want to determine what he’ll eat throughout his English Channel swim, with a view to keep vitality ranges. Whereas enterprise the problem, Beard can have a ship pilot and staff that can get feeds to him. These feeds can differ relying on people tastes, and a few swimmers go for liquid dietary supplements, however the principle factor is that the meals needs to be straightforward to seize and devour. “Over the previous few months, I’ve been experimenting with completely different meals for my ‘feeds’ throughout the swim,” he says. “I’ve settled on re-fried black beans, with numerous additional butter, in addition to calorie dense mashed potatoes, each of which will probably be sucked out of pouches like these designed for feeding a child. Potatoes are very excessive in potassium, and with the combo of beans and potatoes I’ll have a mix of proteins and slower burning, longer-lasting carbs. I’ll additionally add in a small sweet bar for these brief, fast bursts of sugar after I actually need it. Throughout coaching, I drink a mixture of plain water and electrolyte drinks however throughout the channel swim, electrolytes aren’t as necessary as a result of being surrounded by salt water. So, I’ll drink scorching chocolate for each the added warmth, in addition to the additional sugar content material.”
Searching for Professional Recommendation
Beard is attacking this English Channel swim in the identical means that he plans a housing improvement, by utilizing knowledgeable recommendation and data to achieve the absolute best consequence. He’s frequently difficult the space that he can swim within the harsh parts and has additionally sought perception from those who have gone earlier than him. “After I set the aim in 2019, my spouse acquired me a e book written by a profitable English Channel swimmer: ‘Preserve Calm and Swim to France: Tales of an English Channel Swimmer’ by Mark Ransom,” he says. “Then, in June 2022, I accomplished a swim throughout Bear Lake in northern Utah as a part of my coaching. My information on that swim was a former English Channel swimmer, Joelle Brown-Beard (no relation) whom I linked with on Fb. From Joelle I acquired some nice recommendation round upping my coaching. After I swam with Joelle, I anticipated that the lake crossing could be 6 miles and take round three hours. But it surely really took 6 hours to swim 6.9 miles. The water was 54ºF, in order that was part of my slower than anticipated time however it additionally gave me a wake-up name that it is advisable severely practice for a majority of these swims.”
Since then, Beard has ramped as much as the place he’s now frequently swimming 10-12 hours per week. one to 1.5 hours on a weekday, and 5 to six-plus hours on Saturdays. With 3 years of coaching beneath his belt, Beard now considers himself to be a sophisticated swimmer however at all times keep in mind: You will need to search skilled recommendation and supervision when enterprise lengthy distance swims.
His English Channel swim is scheduled for June 8-15, dependant on climate and tidal situations, and The Channel Swimming Affiliation will even be available, to look at the swim and make it possible for it’s ratified.
“My predominant goal is to efficiently full the swim, irrespective of how lengthy it takes,” says Beard. “I’m not doing this to set a file or turn out to be knowledgeable marathon swimmer, however to finish a life aim. It doesn’t should look fairly, I simply should get it completed. I’ll be thrilled it doesn’t matter what my time is!”
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