Letting Go of Running...Marathon Swimming!

Today I swam 4 kilometers in a 50 meter pool. This is the the longest distance I have ever swum. As per usual the mind has a tendency to run into all different things. Today was one that allowed me to visualise the possible feeling of doing a marathon swim (20 kilometers) and the feeling of being able to stay strong in my stroke and technique when I was feeling tired. During this time I realised that swimming is what I am supposed to be doing. As a child I loved the open water of the beach and felt confident in my ability to swim. I also enjoyed swimming in the pool, and wish to this day that I was guided into swimming more as a child and

teenager.

I now have the feeling of its my time to put a childhood want, into fruition and spend my time in the water as much as possible. Yes I will miss running, but I have to admit I am not getting any younger and the body will not be able to run for ever, but I can swim into my older age, and as swimming is low impact on the body it has benefits that at this time I can't ignore.

Marathon swimming are distances 10 kilometers and over. In Perth we have an Open Water Swim Series that has distances of 2.5 kilometers, 5 kilometers and 10 kilometers, then we also have the Perth to Rottnest Island swim which is 20 kilometers. So the new plan is to swim a 5 kilometer swim later this summer and gradually build my distance in the pool and also do interval swims to keep building on swimming pace. Going to the gym to maintain good strength is going to be important as well. I will also get back into walking more once the foot is sorted out, as we have some good hills near our house it will help with leg and butt strength which in turn are great builders for kicking while swimming. This new challenge is going to be awesome to try and reach.

The other important issue for me it making sure I keep gaining weight. Currently I weigh approximately 52.5kg and need to be up around 60kg to make sure I have good insulation for long swims and with a little body fat and good muscle tone and build its going to a great challenge to meet head on.

Hope everyone finds a challenge and takes it on...
Hayley xx