Let’s Do This

2 minute read

Of course I managed to acclimatise back into swimming outdoors in London. The jet lag lifted, work was incredibly busy, and I had to ramp up my training regime for the looming Big Swim on 10 July 2022 – days, rather than weeks away. I had no choice. There was no time to be salty about swimming in the UK, I had to focus on getting in as many swims as I could before my first ever swim event.

I swam in the mornings, and I swam in the evenings.

I swam for long periods, and I swam for short periods.

I swam in a wet suit and in skins.

For the first time since I started open water swimming over a year ago, I started to home in on the distances I was covering in each swim. I’m used to seeing people fiddle with watches with fitness monitors before starting their swim, but I’ve never been inclined to do the same. The most I do is monitor the amount of time I spend in the water. It has never been about how much distance I cover, it’s always been about the experience, what I see and feel as I swim, and how I feel when I get out. All that didn’t go away, but daily, I had to push myself further to see how prepared my body was for the Big Swim. Sometimes that meant doing an extra loop or two around my chosen swim circuit.

I am ready.

Without a shadow of a doubt, my Jamaican swims have physically and mentally prepared me to swim the Henley Mile tomorrow. Spiritually, I am energised and positive. I know I can do it.  As Malcolm X once said, ‘The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.’ I have put the work in both in the UK and in Jamaica and now it’s time to shine.

Tomorrow I’ll get into the water, and I will do what I love: I’ll swim.

I know it’s going to be a very special day, a day I’ll never forget.

The weather is on our side with a forecast of pure sunshine at 28 degrees – the temperature of the sea in Runaway Bay, Jamaica.

I am swimming for my mum, my family, my swim lesson buddies and all the friends who have supported me on this journey.

I am swimming for all the Black and Brown people who swim, who don’t swim, who might swim and those who will definitely swim in the future.

Let’s do this.