This is me (in the pink bobble hat) finishing the Kessock Ferry Swim yesterday!
I signed up for this in February fully expecting to pull out, that recovery wouldn't happen, but wanting something to look forward to.
Anyway - things improved, and I did it - this is me finishing the 1.2km swim in open water across the Moray Firth.
But what was super interesting was the amount of anxiety leading up to it - could I actually swim the distance (I never swam that far before), would the thunder and lightning happen? Would the swim get cancelled? Would it be too windy? Should I wear a wetsuit (I don't normally, but length of time/jellyfish). Would I do it in the time limit? How would I cope with being around that many people? I had so much anxiety around it that I was getting quite panicked the day before and woke up exhausted on the morning. It certainly didn't help that this fell on possible the worst point in my cycle either.
But the minute I got there and got in the water, it was absolutely amazing - I had such a good time.
So I think what is really interesting here, is that firstly - despite everything - I still managed it and felt amazing. Everyone has off-days. Long Covid recovery doesn't mean everything is perfect all the time - because it isn't for anyone!
But also - how easy it is to forget all those lessons I thought I'd learned. Later on I realised what should I have done? Used all those tools I've learned over the last 3 years!
So there we go - I'm all recovered from Long Covid but I'm still learning! Next time hopefully I'll remember the tools in my toolbox....
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