For the past 5 days I have swam like I have never swam in my life. With the looming new lockdown coming into wales I am anticipating that the pools will once again be shut. when originally doing my bucket list one of the top things I wanted to do was swim again. Whilst waiting for my operation 6 months of not swimming was something I missed so much, then lockdown came and I had to miss out on it once again.
Just before lockdown I singed up to diabetes uk swimm22 challenge, swim 22 miles in 90 days. The distance being the English channel, but I opted for the 44 miles thinking this will be something to keep me motivated. I singed up originally to make sure I had no excuses to skip swimming, because in the past I have made them. Once I'm in the pool I love it and don't want to get out . Starting in February I made a a great dent in the challenge, then lockdown came and I had only done 14 miles of my challenge, not even half way.
Lockdown was a challenge for me, the one exercise I loved and am good at taken away from me. I tired going for walks, just dance, you tube videos , but none of them had the same hit of endorphins. Even my daily walk to work was then gone so my exercise was limited to a walk to the shop and back. I did not realise the effects it had on me till a few months in when I was getting a sore shoulder where swimming was not there to keep my joints strong. The putting on of weight then followed suit and I desperately needed swimming back in my life.
Roll on August 10th , the pools could now officially be open and I could get my swim back on. Luckily due to the pandemic the dead line had been changed on the challenge to October 31st to accommodate the situation. At first it was very hard with my pool being a hotel it often was busy and hard to get in the pool to swim. But I had a new drive in me to complete this challenge and change my health so I do not end up with diabetes. I would walk to the pool after work one day and the pool was full , but then I returned 2 hours later to be able to swim. This new drive I had got me swimming to a full hour each time even getting up at 8am on a Sunday when I knew the pool would be empty to complete my swims.
At present time I am 42.64miles into the 44 miles with the new lockdown looming in the next few days. The past 5 days I have pushed myself to go swimming as I will not lose out on those last few miles. On October 5th I singed up to another challenge to swim 22 miles by December 28th. This time it is for a charity called Aspire, a charity supporting those with spinal cord injuries. The main reason I swim is to keep a strong spine to prevent another operation on it in my life, because the risk of the operation means I might not be so lucky.
With the pending lockdown coming who knows when I may complete this challenge but have managed to make a dent so far.
Both charities are great causes and I am sure are struggling at this point in time due to the current pandemic. Any donations for both charities will push me to keep swimming to keep hitting those targets while helping out the charities. If you do wish to donate follow the following links below. Any amount big or small will keep me swimming while the pools remain open.
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