swim for LFL

2.5km done!

A perfect outdoor swim day. Got a lane in the 50mtr pool all to myself for most of it. No cramping. No dodging or overtaking others. No accidental hits or misses. Just warm water & sunshine. AND I managed to get a shady car park. How good is this?!! Would be better with a donation or 2 yo go towards a service that helps kid's mental health. Just a small donation would be outstanding and greatly appreciated.

First swim done!

It could've been worse. I haven't been for a lap swim since Oct last year. I knew it wouldn't be easy. I arrived at the pool and the outdoor 50mtr pool is booked for a school swim carnival (of course!). Almost half of the indoor 25mtr is being used for aqua aerobics and another 2 lanes are used for kiddie swim lessons. That left only 3 lap lanes. Damn... But today is the 3rd and I have 20km to do this month. So in I went. Took a lot longer than I expected. So long that I'm not gonna tell you. But a lot of that time was spent in the slow lane, looking for that perfect gap where I don't end up slapping or crowding someone. Now for a bit of perspective: in December I started C25K (Couch to 5km), a program to help people ease into running. I had tried it twice in the past and quit around week 3-5. This time I finished the program. I have only just started doing 5km run in the last week. It's exhausting. So my personal goals are to run Mon, Wed & Fri and swim Tue & Thurs. Saturday & Sunday are when I dedicate my body to the gods of sleep and couch. My shoulders are dead but the work is done. My knee (surprisingly) is a bit swollen and I got a foot cramp during the swim. Overall, I'm ok but will monitor. Feel free to follow my journey of pain & whinging but a donation towards the cause would be appreciated. It's all for youth mental health. 👍 Pictured: Post swim reward - skinny mocha and egg & ham muffin.

We’re swimming to save lives

Suicide remains the leading cause of death for young people in Australia.

More than 1 in 3 are experiencing mental health difficulties, yet over a million are not getting the support they need.

ReachOut provides anonymous, free and 100% online services so young people can find a safe place to connect, share and get help when life feels overwhelming.

We're taking part in Laps for Life to make sure these vital services are always there. Please donate to our fundraiser and help more young people get the support they deserve.