Humility is learning when to get out of your own way

And the summer season is underway... With a delicious 4 loops of a kilometer course* in the sunshine with the majestic swans in a reservoir in a beautiful spot in South Yorkshire.

How happy I was, enjoying the sun on my back, and spotting an elegant pike in the depths, just before cramp cruelly caught me out (rendering both legs next to useless).

Sometimes the most important thing to know is when you've reached your limits. And so to surrender...

After a brief exchange with a friendly kayaker out on the water for exactly this purpose, and paddling close by me at precisely the moment cramp struck, the safety boat was summoned and I was 'rewarded' with a scenic boat trip and an exit from the water far less serene than my entrance 1h 45mins earlier...

An instructive event (note to Self: don't scrimp on brekkie) made possible by a wonderful team of volunteers whose work in putting on events such as this one mean a very great deal to me.

Whilst recorded as a DNF, I'll take a DNF any day over a DNS. There is a lot to be said for turning up, and a great deal of learning for the taking from a swim 'failure'. A benchmark has been set for the summer ahead. And I have ordered some new electrolytes to trial whilst training for my next long(ish) swim.

"Surrender is like a fish finding the current and going with it." ~ Mark Nepo

Or, a mid distance swimmer cramping and accepting a lift back to the start aboard the safety boat.

*I had entered the 5k category which would, in theory, have entailed 5 neat loops. My sighting, however, leaves a great deal to be desired (in case anyone reading this is looking for an entrepreneurial venture - prescription goggles for astigmatic open water swimming enthusiasts might be an avenue worth exploring) my trusty Garmin tells me that for every circuit I managed to swim an additional 270m - meaning that, on stopping my watch to discuss my exit, I had in fact swum over 5000m.

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The Reward is the Journey

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