Long post summary: I didn’t swim much In mid July, I turned from a pregnant lady into a mum with a baby, via a waterbirth, paracetamol and a speedier than expected labour. With minimal medical issues except quite a lot of tearing I was exhausted and the first few weeks were a blur. But, mentally, I was frazzled. I wanted to reclaim some of my identity, to do something which was MINE, and to not have baby ON OR NEXT to me for even 10 minutes. So I counted down the days until I got signed off by the doctor to be able to exercise again. I could have gone in sooner, but with the aforementioned tea ..read more

I’ve always wanted to do a Dip a Day.. I like the idea of challenging yourself to do something DAILY. However, what’s put me off previously is the logistics, and now with a 6 month old baby, that is even more true. Initially due to a combination of needing to acclimatise to COLD water for the Ice Swimming World Championships, and being initially in isolation as our family got C****d. I may not have dipped for long everyday, and some days I swapped the bin for a lake/river or the pool, but I made up my own rules for this dip a day, and I DID IT! On reflection, here are some things I found about ..read more

Extending beyond swimming your first winter- which is enough of a challenge in itself, there’s lots of opportunities to stretch and challenge yourself (safely) within the world of winter swimming. Some are listed below – though others are often added as the winter gets going so I’ll also update this with any others which I come across. Whole Winter challenges which you complete on your own and submit online Polar Bear Challenges –   This is a varied challenge with lots of different levels – wetsuits, short dips, longer swims in cold wa Brass Monkeys Swim Challenge – tbc Run by the fine f ..read more

With the living costs surging upwards, I’m sure I’m not alone in that the ‘hobby’ budget is the one in our household that we’re squeezing. Outdoor swimming on the face of it has the potential to be a free, easily accessible pasttime, with the ability to swim in free places, and in minimal kit. There is the need to be able to swim, which has a heritage cost to it (swimming lessons etc), but once you can swim, it’s an activity that has the potential of no cost. However… It doesn’t take very long for the costs to begin adding up – venue entry, snacks, additional kit, swim accessories, travel, eve ..read more

Cor, it has been A WHILE. Life has been both busy and stagnant, life has changed and flip flopped back and forth a lot, and as life took the forefront for a bit, swimming went from being on the back-seat, to not really in the car at all. I kept saying I’d start training again “when XYZ happened in a few weeks” or once “we’d done ABC next month”. Hoever, as those things got postponed the weeks turned into many months of inconsistency. Every time I got near the pool in my head (and embarrasingly on my insta posts) I’d declare “I’m BACK” before then dissapearing again or having ‘something come up ..read more

One of the ways I share my love of outdoor swimming is by coaching. I think it’s really important to ensure paperwork is done properly, and ideally with minimal admin (small baby means absentmindedness). Here’s 4 apps / websites / systems that I use to simplify my admin and ensure that everything is stored in the safest ways etc. Monzo Business Account. One of the first things I did when I set up coaching was create a separate bank account. I chose Monzo Business mainly because it was free, but also because I liked the ‘pots’ feature for my own personal banking and I could see how easy it wou ..read more

If you’re anything like me, this week in England feels a bit like Christmas. It was glorious to be back in the pool for the first time in what feels like forever. I’ve missed warm swims. I’ve missed pushing off the wall. I’ve missed lane ropes.I’ve misseed getting changed in a changing room with closed space. Chlorine, I’m not so excited to meet again, but it’s part of the parcel- and at least I’m working from home so I won’t go into the office smelling like a swimming pool just yet. Here are some of the things I’m going to try to keep in mind as we head back to the pool. It’s exciting, but go ..read more

As outdoor swimming grows as a hobby and sport, the innovation of swim kit is exploding to keep up. Here are some swim kit bits and pieces which have caught my eye , and some which I’ve brought that I still think are utterley brilliant. Form Swim Goggles + Workouts. For the techy swimmer, the instant feedback of pace is fabulous, and the workouts database means that even when I go to the pool uninspired, I have no excuse but to swim something that pushes me. I love the goggles so much. I actually have to remember to swim without them or I’ll be relient on them. Swim For Tri #sessioninabottle ..read more

I found the third trimester, both exhausting, and easier than the first couple of trimesters. Firstly I was in summer, so the water was warm enough that I didn’t need to worry about getting cold. Secondly, the closer I got to due date, while energy levels plummeted, I was increasingly confident that bubs was Ok with a short swim – and it helped me have moments of feeling more than just a super pregnant lady. However, at the same time, I was increasingly immobile, uncomfortable, and worried of picking up an infection / illness which would impact labour. I swam both my most, and my least in thes ..read more

Now well into the sharp end of being pregnant, here’s my reflections on months 3-6, in the late stages of Winter and early spring as I swam through my second trimester. (Spoiler alert for the below, but I’m not really swimming at the moment. I did for a bit, but as I reached 2/3 of the way through pregnancy, energy is far better conserved towards my day job, the growing of a human, and not swimming) Don’t take for granted what you can do at any stage. As I’ve got bigger, I’ve been acutely aware that at some point, things I found easy would at some point become more difficult. So I tried to be ..read more