When I got the phone call from Becky at Henley Swim, telling me I’d won one of the coveted six This Girl Can places to swim a mile in this year’s Henley Swim Festival, I quite honestly could not believe my ears. ME? Really? I mean REALLY, really?! I was literally overcome with a heady and emotional combination of disbelief and elation.

Within the past ten months I’ve been fortunate enough to have two total knee replacements. I definitely heard ‘routine’ rather than ‘major’ to describe the surgeries and the process of rehab has been – and still is – more challenging than I anticipated at times. Although I’m working hard on my mobility which is getting better every day, my right knee doesn’t like even the mildest of slopes and has the disconcerting habit of suddenly giving way when I least expect it!

It’s impossible to overstate how excited I feel to be taking part in this challenge. Until surgery, I hadn’t fully appreciated the extent to which my physical condition was impacting me mentally. I’m somebody who has always been goal-oriented but, prior to surgery, I felt like I’d lost my way a bit and was defined by what I couldn’t do.

The sense of freedom I get from swimming is exhilarating. Participating in an open-water swimming challenge has been a long-held aspiration but it felt like a massive – and almost unachievable – step to take on my own. ‘Life-changing’ is a big statement but I honestly feel that participating in this challenge, with five other similarly motivated and inspirational women, can be exactly that for me.

A couple of weeks on from that totally unexpected but magical phone call, I’m trying very hard (and, let’s be honest, not always succeeding!) to quell the self-doubts, embrace the fear and enjoy the process of working towards my very first open water swim, one step at a time. I hope you’ll enjoy the journey with me!