I was standing outside a public toilet in St David’s, Pembrokeshire in the drizzle when I listened to my voicemail from Becky at The Henley Swim advising me that I was one of the lucky winners of the This Girl Can competition.

I’d spent the last few days swimming in and playing on various freezing Pembrokeshire beaches (some of the best in the world in my opinion), while trying my hardest not to cause public outcry by being mistakenly identified as Wally the walrus who had recently chosen the surrounding area as his new home, (No shade Wally, a girl can only dream about being half as good a swimmer as you!).

Imposter syndrome immediately raised it’s ugly head. Did they have the right Amy? Was there a glitch in the system?

I knew how popular the competition had been through social media and couldn’t get my head around the fact that my small tale of woe around anxiety and body image had enabled me to make the final cut.

When I informed my family and friends of my competition victory I was greeted by collective bewilderment. “You?”,” Swimming??”, “A MILE??!”, obviously these words of encouragement really spurred me on…

I can’t exactly blame them though. To say I’m not known for my athleticism is an understatement. Although I can hand on heart say I’ve never faked letters from my mum to get out of PE in school, my participation was minimal at best and I endured an extremely brief university netball career mainly for the social aspect.

But swimming has always felt a little different to me. I was fortunate to spend some time gaining SCUBA diving qualifications in Madagascar whilst volunteering for a marine conservation organisation, and as cliché as it sounds, I was totally captivated by the whole new world under the surface.

Because being cut off from the outside world – experienced when you tip your head back to look at the sky and submerge your ears in a body of water – is the perfect metaphor for what happens to my perpetually overthinking mind when I swim. I love the feeling of being enveloped and supported by water – it’s the aquatic thunder vest to my inner fearful Labrador.

But still, even knowing how great this can feel, I’ve made excuses for not joining local clubs and groups – scared of everyone being better than me, worried about having no one to talk to, nervous about an errant seagull flying off with my car keys. All completely normal and sensible things.

So, entering this competition was a challenge to myself – to get myself out of my comfort zone, physically and mentally. To face my rational and irrational fears head on, to stop worrying what I look like in a wetsuit, to develop a hobby that will last a lifetime and to hopefully have some fun experiences with some extraordinary people along the way.

I’d better get a move on then.