- Swim whenever I had an Opportunity: 1k, 5k, 10k, whatever, if I was invited to swim, I joined in. I treated every swim as an invitation, every swim as an oppertunity to learn and every swim as a training swim. I got to swim so much further, I was never holding back for an impending race… If I was recovering from a big swim, I still swam… and my distance grew, my time in the water went from three times a week to daily, and I am a much better swimmer for it. The hours really do add up.
- Committed to Squad 3 days a Week: This was hard, but I paid up and showed up. Whatever the weather, and stuck to it… even through the wildest winter. There were days when I literally couldn’t face it, I wore sheepskin slippers to the water’s edge, I kept a flask of warm tea at the end of my lane… and I just kept going. This has given me a mindset of commitment that I never thought I had, whatever the conditions, I know I have swum in them before and I know that it doesn’t matter how I feel beforehand, I will always feel better after a swim.
- Committed to a Coach: Listened to the coach, and learned a lot. Hello, learning how to swim all over again, piece by piece. My stroke was dismantled and put back together again. That changed everything. Speed, confidence, mindset… there are a lot of people out there, with the best of “good intentions,” don’t fall for ALL the advice, find the right coach and stick with them, long enough to see results.
- Signed up for Swim Camp: I learned all about nutrition, swam further than I ever imagined and opened my horizons to so much more. I really learned for the first time, that every one’s swim is as important as everyone else’s. When it comes to marathon swims, going the distance is what counts and nobody cares how long it takes you, a supportive crew is there to get you through, and help you overcome the difficulties that you will encounter on the day.
- Organised Myself, Invested in the Right Gear: Finally got a swim bag with pockets for everything and everything in its pockets. Why this took me so long, I will never know. And other bits of kit, I could an essay on goggle spray alone. For years I just used washing up liquid, but I went through so many pairs of goggles as it takes the protective coating off them. Goggle spray, is the right tool for the job… it works!!! So your kit counts, it really does.
- Overcame Niggling Fears: There is a lot of “just don’t think about it” in swimming. And we don’t think about it, we put it from our minds… if someone says, “What about the sharks?” trust me I never think about them at all. But there are other fears: the conditions, the cold, and in Cape Town, seals. I had a run in with a seal and rather than putting it “in a box”, I decided to go there mentally and feel the fear… there may have been tears, there may have been a dramatic heart rate, but that was the worst of it… I could still swim, I wasn’t paralysed and I didn’t need to be taken out, I faced the fear, I understand what it feels like and it is actually okay to get to that point. I am much stronger for it, confronting fears really does vanquish them.
- Made Swim Friends Far and Wide and Swam with Them a Lot. Swimmers of every level, and so many times that I wouldn’t have joined a group in the past, because they were way better than me… well those days are over. Even when they were way better swimmers than myself, I join in. I was not left behind ever (swimmers are great like that) and my swimming improved so much because of it.
Really looking forward to 2026, and another fantastic year of swimming!!!