As I have been writing up my blogs about my Bristol Channel swim and my experience at the UltraSwim 33.3 in Montenegro I realised I have never explained WHY I have been working towards and focused on the challenges I set myself this year.
Everyone knows that I like to set myself a challenge and over the years since my CRPS and Fibromyalgia diagnosis’ and most importantly since accepting my disabilities, I decided to set myself a new challenge each year. This has always been based within a swim, but it doesn’t have to be and even when it is, it has always been more than just a swim. Each year I have tried to do something new; something that would hopefully improve my life, my health and make me a better person. As my challenge is normally within a swim I try to do a different distance event, an event type or format that I haven’t tried or another challenge within a swimming event I’ve not done before.
2021
For example my previous challenge swims have been –
2021 – Completing my first solo ultra marathon swim (Windermere 2 way) – proving to myself that I can do whatever I put my mind to.
2022 – English Channel Relay Swim in a team of people that knew me before I was disabled but didn’t know me since being disabled, a HUGE mental challenge as id spent years trying to shut my ‘not disabled’ past out. Also, travelling solo on trains and staying somewhere solo for the first time since becoming disabled.
2023 – English Channel Solo, my challenge was to learn to cope with the unknown by travelling to a swim camp where I didn’t know anyone and travelling and staying somewhere solo when training for the first time. It was also my hope to prove to myself and others that just because you have a disability it doesn’t mean you can’t do awesome and bonkers things!
2024 – Travel abroad to do a swim (flying with my wheelchair scared me). Prove to myself that I am not a really slow swimmer and that I can perform consistently over multiple days by doing a multi-day swim event. I wanted to travel to an endurance event independently and take on the next step towards completing the original triple crown – the Bristol Channel.
I had a lot of fears about my challenges this year, probably more fears than I had last year when I was doing my English Channel Swim. I would be travelling more, travelling to a channel swim on my own without support from my family around me. I would also be travelling/flying abroad, something I have been terrified of since the only time I have flown with my wheelchair before was when Gatwick lost my wheelchair. It was going to be big year and in some ways I was more scared about my UltraSwim 33.3 event than swimming the Bristol Channel.
In the case of the UltraSwim33.3 #5 Montenegro my fears were –
1. Flying abroad with a wheelchair/TriRide
2. A Multi-day Event, so not having time to recover from each swim properly
3. Dealing with transport in a country where I don’t know the language and know I’m going to face issues transferring and getting around
4. Sea sickness on boat transfers
5. Logistics of getting crutches and/or a wheelchair from every start location to every finish location on time and not stressing so much I cause myself a flare up
6. Travelling home just one day after the event
The Bristol Channel didn’t go to plan, if something could go wrong, it went wrong and I will be writing blogs about it but I have needed time to get my head round all that happened. Montenegro, on the other hand was absolutely incredible! I achieved all my goals, overcame all my fears and anxieties and I managed to face and deal with any issues that arose and as a result has given me a HUGE confidence boost. Not only a boost in my swimming ability, but in my daily life as a wheelchair user too.
