Swimming the channel for Aspire
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There are two sorts of people when it comes to fitness. Those who can motivate themselves, and those who need a bit of a push. I definitely fall into the push category and nothing pushes you quite like a challenge. I’ve swam the Solent, done several triathlons and an ultra marathon. And for a few years, the channel has been calling to me.
Aspire Channel Swim
Okay, so I might not be quite ready for swimming the channel in one go just yet. But that’s not to say I won’t do it one day. In the meantime, the Aspire Channel Swim is a perfect alternative. The challenge is to swim the distance of the channel – 22 miles – in 12 weeks between 10th September and 3rd December.
I’ll be swimming it in the pool, purely because I have no idea how to measure the distance in the river. That will mean a lot of swimming for the next couple of months – I’ll still be keeping up with my river swimming and water polo season is about to start too. But my pool sessions will be around 141 lengths each. Perfect for keeping up with fitness as the Winter creeps up on us. But there’s another reason for doing it too.
About Aspire
Aspire is quite well known for its swimming challenges. But how much do you know about Aspire the charity? Did you know that spinal cord injuries paralyse one person every eight hours? There’s no cure, but Aspire aim to make sure that everybody with an injury to their spinal cord will be able to live a fulfilled and independent life. As a charity, they receive no funding from the government. That’s why challenges like the Aspire Channel Swim are so important.
It’s not too late to sign up to the 2018 swim. Just head over to their website for full details. If it all sounds a bit too much like hard work, you could always sponsor me instead. My JustGiving page is here.
Zoggs rewards
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Zoggs. Firstly, they make swimming costumes. If there’s one thing I need a lot of in life, it’s swimming costumes. Secondly, they have an amazing approach to the environment. They are in the process of launching their Ecolast range, with some Ecolast costumes already available. Every garment in this range is made from waste material recycled from the ocean. They’re chlorine resistant too.
Libby and I have been trying out some Ecolast swimwear from Zoggs (the multicoloured one that Libby is wearing), while Lia and my husband have been wearing swimwear from their other ranges. Lia’s is made from Elastomax, which lasts 120 pool hours. They’ve quickly become our go-to costumes while we’ve been swimming several times a week over the school holidays. They’ve got great designs, I particularly love the back of Libby’s, it’s really unusual. In fact, I love it so much that I ordered the same costume.
Anybody participating in the Aspire Channel Swim will be rewarded with some treats from Zoggs. You only have to raise £25 to get an Aspire swim medal, or raise £150 to get some of their brilliant Air Mirror Swim Goggles. The more you raise, the better the rewards get. Couple that with the amazing work done by Aspire, and you can see why it’s a hugely worthwhile challenge.
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Your challenge sounds tough – but I bet you’ll do it! I’m the same in needing a push. Hmmmm – maybe I’ll look into signing up….
Oh you really should. It’s such a good challenge and a really important cause too.
Nat.x
Ohh.. how exciting! I am a rubbish swimmer but I do love a fitness challenge – although mine tend to be little ones like run a 5k! Can’t wait to hear about how it goes!
Thank you! I enjoy running too but this is a fab challenge and a great cause.
Nat.x
It’s a great challenge, I completed it about 5 years as I felt I needed to help out those affected by spinal injury. My son has a spinal injury, but thankfully is only very mildly and we have never needed the support of this or any other charity. Good luck and enjoy!
Thank you Anne and well done for completing your challenge!
Nat.x