POULSBO — What a difference one year and one heck of a lot of swimming strokes make.

In August 2004, North Kitsap High School teacher Noah Barfield’s health was deteriorating. He was overweight, had high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and had developed panic attacks and a soaring resting heart rate.

In August 2005, he’ll perform a feat only the most in-shape athletes are capable of accomplishing: swimming across the Puget Sound.

Barfield has been athlete all his life, participating in sports such as karate, wrestling and long-distance running. But last August, health problems provided a rude awakening that he had lost touch with his active lifestyle.

“I let myself fall out of shape,” he said.

He began experiencing panic attacks that saw his resting heart rate soar from about 70 to nearly 100 beats per minute. A trip to the doctor determined he had developed Panic Disorder and Inappropriate Tachycardia, a condition in which the heart races for no apparent reason.

Barfield, who is about 6’ tall, also had high blood pressure, high cholesterol (233) and weighed more than 250 pounds.

On the brink of further health problems, he decided to take up a new sport — swimming.

Little by little

Barfield started by setting incremental goals in the pool as he began to get back into shape. He first achieved a mile swim on New Year’s Day this year. He broke a 32-minute mile on his birthday, March 24. Since then, he swims a mile almost every day at the North Kitsap and Bainbridge Island pools — sometimes twice a day.

His health benefits in the months since have been nothing short of monumental. Barfield’s blood pressure has returned to normal levels, panic attacks are under control, his cholesterol is back down to a normal 167, and he’s dropped his weight down to 215, a decrease of 35 pounds.

Aside from the health benefits, he said his greatest achievement has been the discovery of a lifelong sport.

“I feel really good,” he commented. “It’s a sport I want to stick with for the rest of my life.”

In March, he raised the bar further for himself. Though Barfield had only swam about two miles, he decided to commit to completing “Crossing for Kids,” a 3.5-mile charity swim, this summer.

Only this will be no indoor, heated pool he’ll be wading into.

On Aug. 13, Barfield and 100 other swimmers will take to the frigid waters of Puget Sound, starting at Restoration Point on Bainbridge Island, and, swimming the width of the body of water, finish at Alki Beach in Seattle.

The North Kitsap teacher will wear an Iron Man wet suit to help prevent hypothermia in a water where the temperature hovers around 50 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. It will take around two and a half hours to complete the task.

Barfield is optimistic, however, that the conditions will be optimal for the swim, as the organizers have timed it to include limited shipping and boating traffic as well as a time when the tide will help propel swimmers to the Seattle shore.

He’ll also be raising money for “Crossing for Kids,” which benefits the organization Junior Achievement. The non-profit helps integrate economic and business curriculum into the K-12 classroom. The organization impacts 6.6 million students worldwide and more than 100,000 in the Puget Sound region.

To prepare, he heads out with his swimming partner, Jay Stemmler, to Indianola, to do preparatory open water swims. The journey from the pier to the spit and back is about two miles.

The worst part is the start, he said, getting acclimated to the chilly Sound water.

“My hands and feet ache,” he said, even with a wet suit on. “(And on your head) it’s like the worst ice cream headache ever.”

Once out in the water, however, Barfield is always struck by the serenity of the Sound and the marine wildlife — such as sea urchins, anemones, Dungeness crab and seals — that seem to accompany the duo on their journey.

He can also go into his trek knowing he’s also become a United States Master Swimmer (USMS) and a member of the Piranhas, Poulsbo’s local swim club.

Through training, Barfield said there are many parallels in swimming to the martial arts, a sport in which he used to compete. Swimming takes fine motor movement and technique is half the battle, he said. As in many sports, the kinetic chain — the body’s core muscles including the torso area — must be utilized to make each stroke efficient.

Barfield commented an author once told him that developing sound swimming technique was harder than developing a golf swing.

“As a frustrated golfer, I was not encouraged by that,” he said.

Nonetheless, through reading and help from Piranhas Coach Mark Van Huis, as well as NKHS swimmers like varsity athlete Leo Keliher, Barfield said he’s confident the technique he’s developed will get him across the Sound.

On Sundays, he takes his 3 1/2-year-old son, Jacob, to the Bainbridge pool to swim as well, an activity Barfield said he’s happy he can begin to share with his son. He hopes through renewed health, he’ll be able to share it with Jacob, his wife Lisa, and their 1 1/2-year-old son Eli, for a long time.

Barfield said he’s noticed the USMS competitions include a “95+” age bracket, one he hopes to compete in someday.

“Maybe then, I’ll have some good (swim) times,” he said with a laugh.

The Sound swim is not about the competition, he noted — it’s about completion.

“I’m not worried about my time,” he said. “I’m only concerned with being able to finish this event.”

The only aspect he’s a little scared of in the swim, he added, was something that caught his eye on the ferry the other day.

“I looked out and saw a jellyfish the size of a basketball,” he said. “That was a little frightening.”