I have taken on a much bigger challenge this year and I'm swimming the English Channel as part of a 3 person relay with two great swimmers and friends at the Club, Mandy and Pip. Our window is between 30 June and 8 July.

I am totally excited and absolutely terrified but determined to enjoy the journey and the challenge.

As part of my training for the Channel, I will also be doing the four SLSC aquathlons which start on 31 May. Following what I hope is a successful English Channel crossing, I will be doing the Thames 14km marathon swim in August and attempting the Isle of Scilly challenge (15km swim, 10km walk) again in September. All of this, I might add, in rather cold water without a wetsuit. Throw in a possible Hastings swim, the Seahorse Swim (3.8km) and the Brownsea Island swim (~6km I think??) and I have a busy few months.

Life is not quite what I had imagined turning 40 in January 2017 and seemingly now being the crazy cat swimming running baking lady. I did not think I would be THAT person doing all those crazy things. In the last year alone, so many things have changed for the better. I am a stone lighter than 1 May 2016 when I started the Mile A Day in May, and over 1.5 stone since end January 2017. I have another 1.5 stone to go and I will be back at a healthy, manageable weight. Thanks to all my efforts towards weight loss and training, my endometriosis is more manageable and although the 10 years of lack of diagnosis has done irreversible damage, I hope that I will be able to control the pain more and more as this year progresses, my weight diminishes and my fitness increases.

I have started running again and have finished the Couch to 5km programme which was a huge help when I did my first aquathlon of the season! Thanks to all the training, my swimming is faster and stronger. But swimming the Channel, the 14km Thames Marathon or the Isle of Scillies will still be three very big challenges for me. And so I have chosen to fundraise for these three events.

Yet again, I have chosen to support three charities this year, Endometriosis UK and The Passage, which I have been supporting for over 12 years as well as Frank Water Projects which is a more recent charity of mine.

Why Frank Water Projects?
I was lucky to be offered a non-wetsuit charity place with Frank Water Projects for the Thames Marathon. I have supported them for two years but this year, I have a serious £300 commitment to them which I’m thrilled to be aiming for.

I wouldn't know of Frank Water if it weren't for my open water swimming. In reality, they shouldn't exist. We shouldn't have to have organisations that are fundraising to provide essentials. Safe Water and Sanitation.

Really and truly. Think about it. Think about it when you take your shower, when you don't switch the tap off when cleaning your teeth. When you pour a glass of water, don't finish it and pour the rest down the sink.

With its partners, Frank Water Projects work with some of the most deprived communities in India to help them secure safe, clean drinking water and sanitation. They build the skills and knowledge of local people, charities, politicians and change makers to understand the issues and develop their own answers. Over the last 12 months Frank Water have supported communities to build gravity fed water systems, install bore wells and pumps, delivered workshops in handwashing, hygiene, rooftop rainwater harvesting and filtration. They’ve helped families claim their rights to land, sanitation and education.

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