Those of you that know me...once you have stopped laughing at the thought of me being this active...will know that this is a MASSIVE challenge for me! But I am feeling inspired and excited.

I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2001. Then my beautiful daughter Zoe was diagnosed with Type 1 when she was 9. It can be a devastating condition and both of us have struggled with it. At times it is depressing and downright miserable. The side effects can be horrific. I have neuropathy in both feet that was already present when I was diagnosed

Recently I have worked hard to take control of my blood sugar and have been very successful but I need to improve my fitness levels and lose more weight - that requires me to take more exercise. Since we moved to Morecambe I am walking more but I need something a bit higher intensity and was considering swimming as a good option and then I saw this challenge and it just seemed like a brilliant idea.

So here we go.

I am aiming to swim at least 11 miles between 22 February and 22 May and will start training next week to build up some strength. My local pool is 33 metres long and I will need to swim around 540 lengths which means swimming 45 per week which I will do in 2 or 3 sessions per week. I do feel determined but would appreciate your support!

Diabetes UK is the charity leading the fight against the most devastating and fastest growing health crisis of our time, creating a world where diabetes can do no harm. Its a fight that involves all of us sharing knowledge and taking diabetes on together.