We recently decided to take on a new challenge and attempt the Aspire Channel Swim! Last year Amy and I took part in a relay team of ten. This year, we’ve chosen to do it as a family!

Every eight hours someone is paralysed by a spinal cord injury and there is currently no cure.Aspire ensures that everyone with a spinal cord injury has the opportunity to live an independent and fulfilled life. They receive no statutory funding, so every penny raised through the Aspire Channel Swim helps their vital work.

We started swimming on the 10th of September and the challenge ends on the 3rd of December. We’re doing the swim as a family relay team. Our kids are decent swimmers but they obviously enjoy jumping in and splashing us rather than swimming lengths. We thought this challenge would be a great way for them to knuckle down and practise their swimming. It’s definitely worked so far! We all head to our local David Lloyd pool and swim as many lengths as we can before letting them loose to jump in and out of the pool, ha! We visit when the kids are at school too so we can rack more lengths up.

The length of the English Channel is a whopping 22 miles so that equates to around 1416 lengths in our pool. We decided to take the challenge outside and use the outdoor pool. Now for all you non-swimmers, I know you’re thinking ‘so what’ but let me tell you (as a poor swimmer like me) this makes a huge difference. I had no idea that the weather would impact on my swimming as it has done. Even the smallest breeze is enough to slow you down!

I’m not sure if you’re a good swimmer or not and what exercise routines you currently have, but I’d like to ask you all to join us with the Aspire Channel Swim. We all understand the importance of fitting anything around your day-to-day life so you can take part at your own pace, in your own time, at your local pool – anywhere you like.

If you’re looking for exercise that improves heart and lung capacity, but is gentle on your joints, swimming is a top choice. We’re only a few weeks in and I personally feel fitter, healthier and stronger. In the swimming pool, we are surrounded by a range of ages and styles. Swimming provides a total body workout, so you’re using multiple muscles at the same time. Your body is 90% lighter in water so if you’re nursing a troublesome knee, swimming is perfect to add to your exercise routine. As someone who struggles with eczema, I find sweat can irritate my skin so swimming is great for those of us who don’t like to sweat during exercise.

I also find swimming to be very relaxing! As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a great swimmer and I’m relying on breaststroke only. Not the quickest stroke, I know! I concentrate far too much on my breathing and my technique when I first enter the pool. After a handful of lengths though, I enter another world. A world that fills me with peace and calm. On the days that follow, I feel re-energised, de-stressed and I sleep loads better.

I’m so pleased we decided to take on this challenge again. It’s reminded me how much I actually enjoy swimming. Despite not being a strong swimmer, I love the challenge and don’t forget, your body loves to try new things. I can certainly feel my core getting stronger each time I enter the pool.

I hope you can join us! If you can’t, maybe you could support us by making a small donation?

Here’s our JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/the-stainthorpes-channel-swim-2018

Thanks very much!