EXPOSED WHITE FLESH AND SUNBURN, HALF COOKED CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS, QUEUEING FOR CHILDREN'S ATTRACTIONS, BUMPER TO BUMPER ALONG THE M5…GLORIOUS SIGNS THAT SUMMER IS ALL AROUND US! Longer, lighter, warmer days, calling us to lidos and lakes, rivers and seas. Laden with hidden health benefits, open water immersions are not for the chosen few. Bodies of water are for all bodies who choose! Swim in two’s or three’s…or twenty-three’s, it’s sociable and it’s safer. We are taking a bre

These longer summer days are a joy! More time for everything, or so it seems. Great if you are heading to the lake after work for distance training, your first ever dip or a summery sunset social swim. We have made some wonderful friendships open water swimming, one of which was meeting Raf Oya. This month we present to you our 4th account of Swimming + Me. It’s a great intro to our friend Raf and an insight to his fabulous relationship with swimming. Thank you Raf! I FOUND T

So summer is here (yay, I've had my first Pimms already) and next weekend we have the longest day of the year. Many of you are probably sat in traffic or at office desks thinking 'nope, this is the longest day everrrrr'?! Or for those of you competing in a long course triathlon throughout June, July August...that will certainly feel like your longest day! Heaps of sporting events taking place this summer - it's a challenge keeping track with you all. Close to home...last week

…so long in fact that I am yet to say Happy New Year to you all! A month ago today I took the photo above just before our Scottish Christmas Day dip! Here we are a month on, 25th January, continuing with the Scottish vibe…Burns Night! So is 2015 all about the swim for you? Or is it a mix of swim..bike…run? Huge numbers of you are taking the plunge for some epic open water swims this year. Three-ish months to go ’til most lakes are open to the public, that said I know there ar

By far one of the best inventions in my daily life is the dishwasher. Yep. I had to put up a real case, many moons ago, to persuade Mr. Lewis of the positive impact it would have in our lives. Apart from the obvious ‘neither of us having to wash up’ I went as far as suggesting (as the icing on the cake) that we could do more enjoyable and pleasurable things (!!) with the time that we were freeing up! Sold. Mr. Lewis regularly reminds me that I am behind with my payments (huh)

October already and we’re on our 5th drop-in swim session at Wolverton tonight! As local lakes close for open water swimming, it’s super to see the ‘Wolverton Regulars’ retreating indoors along with a host of new faces. It’s exciting and inspiring to hear about what you have all committed to event-wise in 2015…a rising tide raises all ships! If you are planning to come along at some point between now and Christmas, get hold of a Tempo Trainer so you can join in some of the dr

Two weeks ago on Sunday 6th July Sheddie, Emily Campbell, lined up at the swim start of Ironman Frankfurt. Her first triathlon, her first Ironman…she only began learning to swim in January of this year. So, following 7 months of training she got kicked and swam over in the early stages of the swim. Vurst, a german kayaker, came to her side and paddled with her for the remainder of the way. They had a swim / paddle / natter and it transpires that ironically Vurst had camped at

Friday night is film night! Get your swimming glad rags on if you’re dropping in for a swim with us at Wolverton tonight. As promised, for those that want to – we shall be taking a video snapshot of your arm recovery to play back and analyse with you! It’s a chance for some of you to see yourselves swimming for the first time ever. So allow a little extra time in your swimming preps later for nail polish and lippy application! If you live within sniffing distance of Brackley

So here we are, the last day of the first month of 2014. That went surprisingly quick, didn’t it? How are you feeling? How are your enthusiasm levels? We’ve all set some goals for the year, is your motivation thermostat still set at ‘high’ or has it reached a certain temperature and ‘clicked’ off?! Motivation – which are you? Internally driven or externally pushed? Pulled by your dreams or pushed by your circumstances? Maybe a bit of both? Do you need a dose of inspiration to

Friday afternoon Sheddies, how is your week shaping up so far? What have you got lined up for this weekend? I was talking with Adam (Wallace) after swimming last Friday and he asked me how I came up with stuff to write about. My answer is and was – I never know until I finish work, grab a cuppa and sit down in front of the computer! ( You’re probably thinking…’yeah it shows!’). Well my week has been punctuated with all things run-related…so that’s what I’m going to share wit