Doing the recce a month before the Henley Swim was so useful, to have that visual of what to expect has eased my mind. Also meeting with the The Girl Can Team is always a joyous experience and the impromptu dip at the end of the recce meet was just typical of the energy and fun we have when we get together.

I have managed a few swims in the pool to practice the breathing technique when doing front crawl but the sterile environment of the swimming pool is no match of the open water and finding time to get out is proving tricky. A downturn in the weather has not helped either. Work has become busier with some restrictions being lifted, and my three sons need their mum more than ever, especially with my oldest son needing more support for his impending transition to secondary school and my youngest son settling into special school. Life is impeding on my new love! 

To add to it, I catch a stinking cold, coughing and spluttering for days. I have a PCR test and thankfully it’s negative but I have had to cancel a coaching session and several organised outdoor swims, but more annoyingly once I am well again, it has interrupted the momentum of my training and I am finding it difficult to make time to get back in the water. I manage one more trip to the swimming pool to assure myself that I can still swim. I must try not to be so hard on myself, I have done what I can and I am proud to have got this far.

Am I ready, probably not. I was hoping to be fitter, to even be slightly more svelte but that has not happened to the extent I had set for myself.  The truth is balancing everyday life is still challenging while I have small children that still need me so much. Add to that the start of menopause, running your own business and the household and it all piles up, every day non stop. But the benefits I have felt both mentally and physically for taking a little time out to swim outdoors when I can has been nothing but invaluable.  I feel stronger in some sense to deal with the every day constant issues that life throws at you. My friend Gem has also come round at the last minute and helped me paint my nails for tomorrow, first time since the pandemic started. My hands and feet at least look ready!

Reading all the other TGC blogs has been so inspiring and the ongoing messages of encouragement between us through this whole adventure has been like being enclosed in a big group hug, knowing that these ladies have your back gives you that drive to do better and be better. I feel very privileged to know these extraordinary women and I very much look forward to seeing them all tomorrow for our big swim together.