Swim22 challenge completed – and then some!
Back in March when we set out to swim 22 miles each over the next three months, we were confident we could do it. It's just 3.2km per week each and three months is a long deadline. Easy, right?
A month later we were worried.... It was tough. Especially tough when everyday life gets in the way: you're recovering from COVID and struggling to swim for long in 10 degree water, or the kids have COVID and you have to stay home with them, or the school holidays hit and usual routines go out of the window.
We kept plodding on. It was for Diabetes UK and the cause kept us motivated.
Halfway through we were in the Blakeney Watch House and after our sea swimming there were at 19 miles. Behind schedule. Rats!
Well that put a rocket up us and over the next few weeks we swam more often and we swam further. One of us managed 7.5km in the open ocean over half term!
By 22 June when the challenge finished, we'd together swum just over 49 miles which is incredible. We've both swum since, and it's extremely liberating now to swim without a target in mind.
Highs:
Ruth: swimming in Lanzarote over half term, seeing shoals of fish, different seascapes and feeling the strength built over the two months beforehand.
Sarah: the Watch House for sure, a blissful, gorgeous surprise of a location and two very lovely swims (although without the thought of getting more miles I'm not sure I would've done the second one). Plus my fire was quite spectacular.
Lows:
Ruth: Struggling to swim far for a couple of weeks after recovering from COVID. Also feeling the pressure of the challenge sometimes meant it felt like a chore, but usually that improved once I'm in the water.
Sarah: What should've been a lovely last swim at the Oasis turned into a stressful 'key-gate' situation with a teen concerned she'd let the Alpacas run wild across South London (she hadn't, the key was returned but the joy of finishing was somewhat rushed at the thought of roaming farm animals).
Surprises:
Ruth: I knew we were determined women but seeing the change after the halfway point when we were behind on distance still surprised me and hitting the finish line 10 days early felt incredible! The best negative split I've ever been a part of!
Sarah: The fact that anytime I saw water I felt the urge to get in and log some metres - any and every metre mattered (even the really awful, choppy ones at Seaham). Getting over the line early wasn't a surprise to me - I always knew we'd do it but I was surprised at how obsessed we became with getting it done!
