Our family holidays this year seem to be centred around water, probably because I am the one who’s organising them. A few weeks ago we went camping with some friends for the Jubilee Weekend, at a campsite with a lake. A perfect chance to do some open water training in unfamiliar surroundings to work on my anxiety.

My girls are my main motivation for remaining as fit as I can, they can already run faster than me, we’re pretty equal on a bike, they have so much more bravery when skiing, but at least with swimming I can still beat them 😉 It won’t be long though with my eldest, she will join school swim squad next year, so will very soon be much faster and definitely more efficient than me in the water; their power to weight ratio is incredible!

The lake wasn’t huge but my eldest wanted to be my support crew, so paddle boarded alongside me for much of my swim. Offering up encouragement, and banter, when I started to freak out about all the weeds that I was getting tangled up in. My 9-year old was saying all the phrases I normally use when she is reluctant to do something, may be I am teaching them something right!

The best thing about the trip was my girls spent so much time in the water, swimming or just messing about, it made my heart sing to see them so happy and confident. They were so excited and inspired by our time camping at the lake, they have both now entered the Henley Splash event at the Outdoor Swimmer Henley Swim Festival.

This Girl Can is such a powerful community, and I am so proud to be a very small part of it this year, it’s exactly the role models I hope my girls will look up to and be inspired by throughout their lives.

Photo credits: Jay Armstrong instagram @jayarmstrong_uk (another fabulous inspirational woman!)