I did it!

So today was the day of my Macmillan swim challenge, and fortunately the sun was shining and it was 14 degrees, so not as bad as expected.  It still felt fresh though, and the water temperature was only 16 degrees!

My session was at 11.30am, but we were told to arrive an hour earlier for registration, a safety briefing and warm up.  When we got there, the first 5km session was underway - they started at 8am and had 3 hours to complete the distance.

As I was swimming 2km, we had 1.5 hours to complete it, and I'm pleased to say that I finished in 1 hour and 20 seconds.  I had hoped to finish in just under an hour, but considering the temperature, the amount of swimmers and the fact that I was in my wetsuit and only swim breast stroke, I'm really pleased with my time.  I was fine while I was swimming, but as soon as I stopped and stood up, I felt very light headed and wobbled a few times!  I soon came back to normal though and had a hot chocolate, a cake and chocolate for the sugar (any excuse!).

My friend Sandra was also taking part, and was swimming 5km in the 1.30pm session, but they arrived early to support me, and then Alan and I stayed to watch her.  She swims front crawl and is very fast, completing the distance in 1 hour 37 mins!

I was so hungry that we called at the chip shop on the way home and both had pie and chips before heading to Sandra and Lu's for champagne to celebrate.  We only stayed a couple of hours though as we're both tired, so it'll be an early night - I'm sure we'll sleep well!

This event has raised £21,000 for Macmillan Cancer Care, and I'm proud to have been part of it.  I've added a few other photos to my extras if you want to have a look.