The Run Up to Windermere: Feeling more connected.

“By failing to prepare, you preparing to fail” Benjamin Franklin

Sunday 18th August 2019

Waking up to a miserable morning was becoming normal during August of 2019. This was another unsettled Sunday start to the day. Rain makes open water swimming a little more of a challenge, I need to plan ahead to make life as easy as possible. I need to think about where I’m getting changed, how close I can get to the water, where I’m going to leave my prosthetic legs, how I’m going to get in and out of the water. 

Why don’t you use a wheelchair I hear you ask? Well, using one doesn’t make life any easier for me anyway. Granted I could use it to get to the water edge, but when I’ve finished I don’t particularly want to soak my seat with my wet bum.

Personally, I need to plan every detail in advance, that seems to be how my life is now.  

Lucky for me and my prosthetic legs, Andark has a purpose-built building with a massive overhanging roof. Getting changed under neither this overhang hang is perfect, it isn’t that far for me to bum shuffle over to the pontoon to get into the water.  

Today was all about swim technique. I’m really bad I never practice swim drills break down my stoke into smaller parts. However, it's great having someone analyse my front crawl stroke to see where I can improve ad how I can become more efficient in the water.  

I like swimming in the rain, I don’t know why but it makes me enjoy the water in a completely different way. Perhaps it’s because only the really dedicated swimmers come out for a dip, which means it's also quieter in the water. Maybe the sound of the rain hitting the water has something to do with it. Whatever it is I like it, it makes me feel special in some way. I feel more connected with my surroundings in those privileged moments.

I couldn’t hang about for long as I had another important task ahead of me. I was taking my youngest daughter swimming, Emilia loves swimming and I love taking her.