14 days to go!

 With just 14 days to go, and my training partner and I take on probably one of the biggest challenges to date. 19.7 kilometers of open water, where there could be sharks, cargo ships, we know there will be lots of other swimmers, boats and kayaks. This is a swim not to compete against each other or others, its about seeing just how far our bodies can go and how our minds cope with such stress on the body.

Now doing a half Ironman event a couple of years ago, was hard, and yes the training put me in good stead for complete it. In triathlon you have a very short swim (either 1.9km or 3.8km) then cycling (either 90 or 180km) followed by the last discipline of running (21.1km or 42.2km). Now these distances are from either a half Ironman or and full Ironman. I have only done short distance or half Ironman. I know that when I competed in the triathlon, I was able to stretch my legs when they were cramping or my back on the bike and I could walk if I needed to on the run, when it comes to swimming the Rottnest Channel or any other endurance swim you don't have that luxury. This is a game of mind and body, to make sure you can keep them in sync with each other for as long as possible. The other issue is Hypothermia, where you become so cold that you run the risk of being pulled out of the water and even taken to hospital, this can also be a life threatening issue with endurance swimming and not something you take lightly.

I have a number of people that keep asking me, "why?" and "are you crazy?" I have also others who wish me all the luck and have high regard for what I am going to be doing.

I know I can stand tall and say I have faced more in my life than swimming across an channel and made it to the other side and this will be no different. I am super lucky to be sharing this event with my training partner whom is also my boss, and friend. My husband and kids. Also close friends that are part of our safety crews. This is be a great memory and experience for them as well as us swimming. They will be apart of an amazing group that has allowed us to reach for our dreams and goals and make them come true and memories that we will hold forever.

I hope that in time I can use my experience with marathon swimming to encourage other girls, women, men and boys to reach for their dreams no matter how scary and big they are and know that with the hard work to make them come true is all part of an enriching journey and the lessons that you learn are forever with you and will make you a stronger and different person, no matter what you are dealing with in your life and why you want to reach the dreams you and goals you do.

Let your Spirit Fly and your Soul to saw...

Hayley xx