When you embark on any challenge you always have periods of doubt “Why am i doing this?” “I have got no chance of completing this” “What if i don’t finish, i will let myself and everyone else down”

I have to admit i have been having a spate of these thoughts over the past couple of weeks and i’m sure the other 2 participants will have these moments as well. Let me introduce my follow swim buddies who have also signed up to the challenge

Fi – swims like an olympian, technique is unquestionable, makes swimming look so natural and an around female version of me, a true love of all sport

Shoulders – Big Chris, what can you say, power and power, self confesses his lack of ability to chill and slow down, in the Edinburgh swim festival last year he won the race ….. to the first buoy. An incredible talent, he’s 6 ft 12 inches with shoulders that dwarf his size.

Me – The Plodder, not fast, not slow, to put me in perspective i did 2 x 2.4 mile swims one month apart, i decided to do one race as fast as possible (65 minutes) and one race efficiently as possible (68 minutes) – 3 minutes worth of a difference and i was breathing out my ……. Therefore i have come to the conclusion an efficient plod is for me!

The 3 of us are hopefully embarking on this adventure / challenge / lunacy with an open honest approach, which i believe is the only way we can stay friends!

In training I’m always last to each marker and i totally expect that, so i decided to have that honesty with them and state that i felt i will be holding them back, their answer was very simple we are in this together, the Lochs are too cold at present and everyone just needs to stay as warm as possible for as long as possible.

So here we are heading into the months that matter, the focus and drive to get out of bed at 6am on a Sunday morning to head into whichever mass of water we choose. The worries are always there “What if?” The big fish and boats don’t worry me, its the psychology, and more importantly its managing those Demons