Since March I’ve been writing updates on my swimming training as I prepare to swim almost three miles outdoors in the Llyn Gwnant lake in Snowdonia for the spinal injuries charity Aspire. Although I’ve been quiet for a while due to the joys of moving house and a summer of festivals fear not as I’ve been ploughing on and swimming length after length after length after length. Now with less than two weeks to go I think I might be ready.

I have to be honest though my swimming mojo has waned slightly and I can’t wait for the swim weekend to get here. After almost five months and despite having a waterproof MP3 player to keep my happy I am bored of swimming monotonous lengths, smelling of chlorine, watching the skin peel off my fingers from the water and getting up at 5am to tussle with pensioners for lane position whilst swimming before work.

That being said there have been some real highs during the past few months. I’ve learned to swim, taken a trip to Newquay, have swam in open water for the first time and most surreal of all have been interviewed by Duncan Goodhew whilst taking part in the Great London swim at the beginning of July. The Great London swim was an awesome experience and I loved every minute of it. It was a phenomenal morning. I was interviewed at the start by Channel 4, on the way round and at the end again by Channel 4 and the local paper. You can read the online article here http://tinyurl.com/36ccl9b .

The biggest high though has been the fact I’ve reached my fundraising target of £1000 and am still continuing to be sponsored. I am so grateful to everyone who has sponsored me and whether it is £1 or £100 if you have put your hand in your pocket you can rest assured your money really is going to a superb cause. You can still sponsor me though if you want by going to www.justgiving.com/rockupandroll . Whilst I’m on the topic of fundraising I have to give a special mention to the Greenwich Rotary Club who have agreed to give me £400 to cover the cost of my wetsuit. What’s more the President of the Rotary Club has dug deep into his money and made a substantial donation, which is really incredible.

I completed the Great swim in just over an hour so I’m on course to not be left too far behind by the other Snowdonia swimmers. I believe there will be 25 of us in total taking the plunge into the icy waters in Snowdonia and I’m just praying that it stays dry and fairly warm.

If you feel the urge to give me some words of encouragement between now and 14 August please do so because I’ve got two more swim training sessions and I’m struggling for motivation to put my trunks on again. That being said the sense of elation I will have after I finish the Snowdonia swim will hopefully be enough of an incentive to get me into the lake and swim the three miles or so.