This morning I got up early, put on my wet suit, called an Uber and went out to confront the unknown….in the cold.

I met a woman called Sylvia who took me out on her boat to just under the Golden Gate Bridge where I jumped out and started swimming towards Alcatraz with the aid of the flood current coming into the bay.

The sun was coming up over the city and I had an amazing unique view of the Golden Gate Bridge, the City of San Francisco and Alcatraz.

After just under an hour I’d swam around 4.5k (again with the big help of the current!). The hardest part of this swim was the lead up to it, I reminded myself to just go one step at a time and could hear Kurt’s mantra of “avoid paralysis by analysis” in my ear.

Life’s challenge can be daunting but it really does help to break it down and not let yourself over think unnecessarily, the reward of tackling them head on is not to be underestimated. I’m so happy I found a swimming family in Brighton that welcomed me to open water swimming this year and have been a source of friendship and encouragement.

More information on Brighton Triathlon Race Series can be found here http://brightontriathlonraceseries.co.uk/

More information on Syliva and Pacific Swim Company can be found here: https://www.pacificswim.co/