Over Halfway — And Swimming in My Own Lane

❤️ Today’s swim was lovely.

There’s no other word for it. Calm. Intentional. Freeing.

I set out with the intention to bring in calm and pace, and I stuck with it. I swam 90 lengths—2.25km.

I originally planned for 80 lengths, which would bring me to a total of 10km swum so far for the BigSwim challenge. But once I reached that number, I thought: why not swim 10 more?

So I did. Just like that, I’m now over halfway. 🙌 That's a whopping 10.25km!

It wasn’t just the distance that made today feel different. It was the energy I swam with. The space I gave myself. The calm I invited in and held onto the entire swim.

There were more swimmers in the pool than usual today, and I noticed something powerful—I didn’t feel phased.

If someone needed to overtake me, they did. And that was fine.

I kept to my pace. I stayed in my body.

I didn’t rush. I didn’t tense.

I just… swam.

That might sound small, but for me, it’s huge.

In the past, I’d feel tense or thrown off if others were faster or closing in behind me. I’d start comparing, adjusting, doubting.

But not today.

Today, I felt a quiet confidence that said:

"You’re allowed to be here. This is your swim, your goal, your strength, your pace.”

I also worked intentionally on my tumble turns, slowing them down and bringing more awareness into my form. Some felt great, others are still a work in progress—but that’s okay. This whole journey is a work in progress.

And today?

It felt really, really good to just be me in the water.

Thank you for reading and walking (swimming!) alongside me in this challenge. If you’d like to support my journey and help Coastguard continue their life-saving work, you can donate here:

👉 https://bigswim.org.nz/a-young

Halfway there—and still growing, one stroke at a time.💙