It’s been a long time since I’ve set myself and completed any kind of physical challenge. Mainly because I’m not fit enough and weigh about twice what I should (well, almost). I was supposed to take part in a triathlon relay at Outlaw this year, with me doing the swim and two other Pirates mates doing the bike and run. However, towards the end of last year, my head just wasn’t in it, and I didn’t want to end up in the place where I would let the team down by not making the cut off, so I backed out and thankfully a much speedier pirate took my place.

That was definitely the right decision for that race, but I’ve recently been feeling a bit rudderless and needed to find a challenge to focus on. I’ve been loving the open water swimming over the last couple of years, albeit there has been more ‘dipping’ than ‘swimming’ because I just love being in open water. I’ve not been doing any distance at all, and know that I need to work on shoulder strength and technique so I can increase distance, but that’s all doable.

All that said, an idea to do the Coniston Chill Swim has been chipping away at me for a few weeks. I went to a pool for the first time in years a couple of weeks ago just to see how far I could swim without stopping. I swam 850 meters (though only 800 recorded) and actually felt okay. It’s a long way short of Coniston swim, but I have time to build up.

So after all that, I signed up today. On 22nd June next year I’ll be toeing the line at the southern edge of lake Coniston with a 5.25mile (8447m) swim to the other end of the lake. There’s no pressure for doing it in a specific time for a team or for anyone else but myself.

Let’s go!

Wish me luck… 😁