I am taking part in the Thames Hospice Open Water Swim Challenge 🏊‍♀️ I’m going to do my best to swim 5km

You may already know that I love my open water swimming! But the furthest I have ever swum is 2km. So this event will really challenge me, and I’m not sure if I feel better or worse when I recently found out that 5km is considered a half marathon in swimming terms. Yikes!

I’ve decided to try and raise some money for Thames Hospice. I know what a difference the money will make to those patients and families who are facing the most difficult of challenges.

Our dad is currently under the care of a hospice, and I have found out that many patients receive their care at home, and use the hospice as a facility to drop into. So I am swimming for all the Hospice at Home patients who need the support of these incredible charities, who face rocketing costs and rely on donations.

💚 £11 could pay for a patient’s medication for a day

💚 £23 could pay for an assisted bath helping a patient to relax

💚 £52 could pay for a bereavement call to support a family member

Thames Hospice are here to ensure that patients and their families are cared for with the utmost compassion, dignity and respect. Funds raised from my swim will ensure that Thames Hospice can continue to provide care to those in the local community.

Hospice care is a vital part of many people’s health care, particularly at the end of life. And we never know when it will be us who will either need a hospice or know someone who does.

UPDATE!

I did it!

I was so nervous the night before I did not sleep well. Then I woke up mega early to eat porridge and get my lakeside snacks ready. I was so excited afterwards I couldn't sleep then either, so you could say I was pretty knackered by Monday!

But it was all worth it. I had a sneaky feeling that as soon as I started swimming it'd somehow be ok, and it was. And I just kept swimming. Time fell away, and it was effortless. I could have carried on.

It was a huge boost to see my fabulous sister Alice on the side cheering me on after 2km, and a huge thanks to everyone who came to support me. I was overwhelmed, but you couldn't see that behind my googles..

I was slow, yes, but I was faster than I had hoped to be, getting out after 3 hours 22 minutes.

What next? Well, I had vowed to swerve the lake for a while. That went out of the window after 48 hours. I am going to learn front crawl and continue to do as much of this sport, my moving meditation, the thing I love, as much as possible.

Let's enjoy life, at whatever stage of it we are at.

Kate xx