I entered this competition regarding outdoor swimming as a kind of bitter medicine: good for me, but something to be endured rather than enjoyed.   Yet here I am, on the eve of the Henley Swim Festival, a certified (certifiable?) outdoor swimming addict. 

I knew I was forever lost to the swimming pool the moment I first took off my wetsuit at the lake, felt the sting of chilly water against my skin and experienced a rush of euphoria. 

Though that first dip felt cold, each wild swim since has felt easier than the last.  The North Sea on a wet and windy day and a very fresh Welsh mountain river made my inaugural Thames swim feel positively balmy. 

I certainly didn’t sign up expecting to finish my training craving the bite of cooler waters or eyeing up adventurous swimming locations in Outdoor Swimmer Magazine!