COEUR d'ALENE - Choppy water, hills, heat and rhythmic pounding from footfalls on miles of pavement are nothing compared with what Zane Graser faced just to reach the start.

So for those looking for someone to cheer during Sunday's Ironman Coeur d'Alene, look no further.

Graser, of Coeur d'Alene, is competing in the Ironman this weekend to prove that anyone can do anything they set their mind to.

"And to challenge myself, too," he said.

Born prematurely, Graser has endured health problems his entire life. He said his mother was healthy; he was simply born a month early.

"I had a heart murmur, two hernias, my stomach was hanging out improperly, and my esophagus was connected to my lungs," said Graser, now 31. "I needed major surgery to repair the multiple defects when I was very young."

His parents for the first few years didn't know he had these major problems.

Then "they noticed I was turning blue while walking outdoors," Graser recalled. "That's when they discovered all of these issues, and I was not going to last very long in life if I did not have the surgery."

He eventually got the medical care he needed, including open-heart surgery, but doctors only gave him a 15 percent chance of survival.

"At the time, open-heart surgeries were very new and it was an all-day ordeal," he said. "I came out of surgery and lived a pretty productive life."

He was active growing up, and loved sports.

"About 4 years ago, I fainted and I ended up going back to the doctor to do some tests," Graser said. "I found that I had irregular heartbeats and lots of them."

He was constantly getting dizzy spells similar to when a person stands up fast.

"Only I was getting those frequently, even while sitting," Graser said. "I was eventually told that I would have to get a pacemaker."

He got one three-and-a-half years ago. He is deaf, but can have a conversation with the help of a hearing aid.

One year ago, Graser quit a job working in western Washington for the Department of Corrections.

"I was full of life and I did not want to be confined to a traditional job," he said.

He moved back to Coeur d'Alene to be near his parents and others in his family.

Last summer, he volunteered for Ironman Coeur d'Alene.

"I felt inspired to participate myself," he said. "I always told myself that I did not want to do it because it's a hard race to be a part of and it requires many hours of training."

He has spent the past year training.

"I was a terrible swimmer and I did not know how I was going to make the swim cutoff time, let alone swim the distance," Graser said. "I kept working at it and slowly improved and finally got myself to a point where I can make the time in each discipline."

He also has completed two half Ironman races, including one in Medical Lake and another in Grand Coulee in eastern Washington.

He has been training for 15 to 20 hours per week.

"I put in over 2,000 miles on the bike at the gym over the winter," Graser said. Lately, he has been training on the bike course.

"Saturday and Sunday I've put in a lot of hours, like four, five, six hours on the bike," Graser said.

Because of a knee injury, he hasn't been able to run as much as he would like.

"I should be running around 25 or 30 miles per week," he said. He also has been logging multiple hours each week swimming, and been swimming in the lake since May.

Graser has benefited from the experience of his coach, Ironman veteran Shawn Burke of WITH Performance in Coeur d'Alene.

"He's done over 20 triathlons himself, and he knows what works and what does not work," Graser said.

Graser is being sponsored by Coeur d'Alene Triathlon Team.

"CdA Triathlon Team chose to sponsor Zane because we believe he has the ability and drive to overcome any obstacle," Megan Leary, director of the group, said in an email Tuesday. "He is dedicated, hard-working, and has the heart of a champion. When you look at the big picture, that's what Ironman is all about."

Graser graduated from Shadle Park High School in Spokane and graduated from California State University, Northridge, with a degree in physical education and minors in special education and vocational rehabilitation.

He became the first deaf person to get a job in his field for the Department of Corrections in Monroe, Wash. He ran recreational programs for offenders, working to keep them out of further trouble.

He left his job there because he wanted a new challenge, he said. He's working as a real estate investor in North Idaho now.

"Not that working with offenders wasn't challenging enough," he said. "So I moved back and I started my own business."

His parents, David and Lynn Graser, live in Coeur d'Alene. They'll be watching Sunday, along with Graser's sister, Erin Graser, of Spokane.

Graser's uncle, Pat Wardian, will be running his first Ironman this weekend, too.

"He had a goal to do it before he turned 60," Graser said.

Right after last year's Ironman, Graser hesitated about signing on for this year.

"I didn't want to go through it all alone; it was a huge journey to undertake," Graser said.

But then Pat Wardian and his daughter joined him.

"When Pat told me they signed up, that was all I needed to hear," Graser said.