Chatting with Keri-anne Payne on the start line!

Before taking on the 10km at the Great East Swim I was lucky enough to join Keri-Anne Payne on the STA Open Water Swimming Coaches course and not only did I learn loads to coach others in the water but also learned a fair few things to improve my own event swimming too!

Alton Water in Suffolk was another amazing venue and I loved this swim. An early start this time on another sunny day and in warm water. I was very lucky to get a pep talk and a hug from Keri-anne before entering the water; she gave me some invaluable last-minute pointers about sighting into the sun and then the 10km wave was off.

Again, another great event; I had thought more about my feeding strategy for this one and fed early whilst the course was quieter so that I wouldn’t need to feed on all the laps if it all got a bit busy.  This paid off as on the last lap it was clear that if I stopped to feed I would get myself tangled up in a group of one-mile swimmers who would be entering as I passed the start line, so with enough in the tank I just kept swimming and cleared the area before the wave entered.

Some awesome finish line shout outs and a quick check of the watch and I’ve taken 6 minutes off my Windermere time! A celebratory glass of wine in the sunshine with a new shiny medal and that‘s one happy swimmer right there.