A Cold Wet Start to the Year?....Brilliant!

What a brilliant start to the new year...I did the New Year Swim at Salford Quays. It was wet and windy when I arrived and it didn't get any better, but no-one cared. I did feel sorry for Sian and her two girls though as they came to cheer me on, I was so pleased to see them. I handed my camera to Jess and asked her to take loads of pics, it wasn't easy as it was raining but she did brilliantly.

I had put the lower half of my wet suit on at home as I had to jump around the bedroom, huffing and puffing like a wild woman to get it on...I preferred to do this in the privacy of my own home ha ha ha. I pulled on the rest of the suit just before the start. The ground was so cold my feet were numb before I'd even dipped a toe into the freezing, black water. We were told we would do a circuit round the buoys and could go twice if we wanted. We could jump into the deep water to start or walk down the ramp...most people were ready to jump and so not wanting to appear a wimp I waited there too. The horn sounded and people dived (utter madness), jumped (madness) and slid (my option) into the water...and then we were off.

I've never swum in a wetsuit before and it was great, my body wasn't too cold...or maybe it was so numb I couldn't feel it...and it added buoyancy. Some crazy fools swam without suits. The water was only 5 degrees and it snatched my breath right away. In fact I almost panicked half way round as I was struggling to breathe. I only did one lap, as did a lot of people. I could hardly climb out and I was shivering and shaking so much I could hardly get dressed. I had to count my toes as I really thought I must have lost a couple in the icy water. It took about an hour to get feeling back in them. I must watch the news later as the BBC were filming us too.

I went along with Sian and the girls for a lovely, hot cup of tea when I was dressed. I soon warmed up...apart from my poor toes...and I felt so alive and invigorated, it is such a wonderful feeling. I'm now going to find out when the next one is.

Oh yes...that is me looking nervous with the daft face in the middle. I was so grateful to Sian for coming down and to my sister who phoned me before and after the swim. Stellarossa went to visit crazy swimmers in Oxford too.

* I've just seen the local news and we were on...I think I spotted myself in the water. I didn't realise it was all for charity too...for Tameside paediatric unit.