Wow, how the time flies! So much has happened it’s hard to know where to begin- but the big news is that I’ve done my 6hr qualifier!!!! And even more exclamatory, I enjoyed it. Almost every single minute!

I have a crack team of experts in support, from Neil on the kayak, Duncan as a PT, Paul on the nutrition and sports science front and Rob on the therapeutic beatings to Sarah keeping me moving! I am so blessed…And Jenny and Nabeeh at Marlborough House are taking me on and pimping me- I have received amazing messages of encouragement and love that I feel buoyed and elated already.

Hard to think that I’ve got a whole year to go- I want to do it now! But that is part of the whole process for me- learning to pace myself and go the distance. Ride the highs and lows with equanimity. I have definitely been on a high since swimming 6hrs 6mins in glassy conditions around Lyme bay- mile and a half off shore, loving the day. Not feeling tired or cold. Working on lengthening strokes instead of ‘trying’ so I use less effort, stay looser and keep warm. Chilli chocolate RULES! The highs are odd, since the body is exhausted. But today, the low hit. I feel flat and ambivalent about food, excercise, whatever……blahhhhh. It’s odd, I know it too will pass. Just odd to watch these things move through you.

The metabolic overdrive is a wierd one. Makes perfect sense, if you think about it but why would you ever think about what happens to your body when you demand it to create extreme amounts of heat to stay alive whilst pushing the limits of endurance- it doesn’t just stop when you get out the water! One mouthful of food and I feel like a menopausal woman- hot flush ahoy! My body has become temporarily hyper-effecient at converting food into fuel in to heat. Amazing machine, but not great when you’re dripping with sweat after eating an apple between clients! Eugh.