I am utterly stoked to have taken nearly 5 minutes off the last swim I did three weeks ago. I knew that I could go faster and still survive the distance. Was still right at the back in my own little bit of water and did head off to the horizon a couple of times but was really pleased with how well I rounded the bouys; managed to freestyle around them quickly. There were three people I maybe could have caught as they finished only just in front of me but I couldn't go any faster at the end. The nicest bit was my son running into the water as I came out to run with me up the finishing chute. I got stung a couple of times and my left arm looked like it had been whipped. I was really miffed that the welts had all disappeared the next day and I didn't have any battlescars to show off. To cap off a perfect morning, my friends from the club did really well and one got third in her age group.

Swim faster!! Need to practise my navigation and sighting so that I'm not heading off the wrong way. My swim coach has suggested I always breathe bilaterally as my position in the water is so much better but I haven't practised enough so stuck with the breathing every stroke. Hopefully next race, I'll be able to do so.

Standing about chatting and drinking loads of water. We couldn't hang about long because hubby was working.


Lack of natural ability and experience. Lack of navigational skills (I needed a compass).


I had another brilliant race and will definately do more of the OWS swim series when it comes around again. The main reason for doing these races is to boost my confidence in the water and that had happened big time.