Becoming more active: "I did my best swim at the end of July"

The last time I updated you all I was only managing to swim for about half an hour, and my return to swimming after a six week break was abruptly interrupted by a smashed window. Well, I couldn’t be further away from that situation now, I’ve come on so much and I feel like I’ve really got back to where I was before my break.

I did my best swim yet at the end of July, I was in the pool for nearly an hour and I swam 1,200m at the best pace I’ve done so far this year. Nearly eight months into the year and I really feel like I’m getting the hang of swimming now!

My technique has improved greatly, and in the last few months I’ve started swimming breaststroke with just my arms to try and improve my technique further. I’ve also been doing this because on Saturday 18 August I’m taking part in the Superhero Tri Series, an accessible triathlon designed for disabled people where you can use any support or equipment you need to get over the finish line.

I’m on a team with two wonderful physiotherapists who are doing the swimming and cycling sections, and then I’ll be finishing things off by doing the push/run section in a manual wheelchair. I’m a powerchair user and struggle to self-propel in a manual wheelchair for just 10 metres, so 1km is really going to push me. Hence why I’ve been recently swimming with only my arms to try and build some strength and stamina, and see how my body reacts to me using my arms more. I will be very happy if I do the full 1km on my own, but my wonderful teammates are going to join me in case I need some help.

I’ve also set myself the goal of doing the full triathlon on my own eventually, whether that’s next year or the year after. Adapted cycling is something I’ve always wanted to do, and I’ve found a place near me which offers it, so I’m hoping to give handcycling a go at some point. When it comes to the swimming, I need to be able to swim 100m without stopping, right now I can just about manage 50m so that’s another goal for me to work towards during the next year. 

I feel really motivated right now when it comes to swimming, I love every minute I spend in the pool and if my body would let me I’d happily swim every morning! In terms of short term goals I really want to improve on my pace and work towards consistently swimming 100m in about four and a half minutes.

If you didn’t catch Shona’s last blog post, you can read it here. 

Keep a look out on our news section, Twitter and Facebook to see how Shona gets on achieving her swimming goals over the next six weeks.

To find out more about the Superhero Tri Series visit the Superhero Series website. You can follow the action on Twitter at @SuperheroTri. 

Photography credit: Maciek Tomiczek www.maciektomiczek.com