For me when I'm standing
at the edge of the lake
and waiting to go in
I'm thinking, 'What am I doing?'
and there are many swear words
going through my head.
I can often find myself staring
at the water
I think doing something like
outdoor swimming
which is something that many people
will think is mad.
It has a way of empowering you.
Doing something outside.
In the cold weather.
It makes you feel brave
and I think there's something really empowering
about doing something for yourself.
So when I first
started to get into outdoor swimming
I was definitely nervous.
There was a lot of self doubt.
Would I be fast enough?
Would I be brave enough? 
Would I be able to get in?
How long could I stay in for?
and that actually took me a while
to get over before
I stopped thinking of the excuses
and actually got on with it.
It was just crossing that initial barrier
of doubt
and once I did
It's fair to say that I fell
deeply in love with outdoor swimming.
When you're in the water
your body is weightless
I'm not worrying about anything.
I'm not thinking about anything.
I'm just there in the enjoying that moment
right then
The thing that I enjoy the most
about outdoor swimming
is definitely being outside in nature
doing an activity
that has a way of reducing
the scale of any problems
that you may have.
The health benefits for me
are mainly mental
I work in a job that can be 
highly emotionally demanding
and I find that
outdoor swimming 
has a way of reducing any stress
that I may have
and I'm able to
leave work at the door
and get a better
work / life balance.
The open water community
is fun and vibrant
and it's fair to say
that I've definitely found my tribe
It's diverse
there's people of all ages,
all different shapes and sizes,
all different races,
and all different outlooks on life.
Outdoor swimming has a place
for everybody.
It's effortless to say though that
although there can be some days
where it's tough to get in the water,
the easy days definitely out weigh
the tougher ones
and the majority of the time
I'm excited 
I'm ready for it
and I just want to get in.
One of things that I think I love
the most about outdoor swimming
is that
you don't need loads of equipment.
You just need yourself,
you need a towel,
you need a costume and 
some good friends to have a giggle with.
A bit of cake never goes a miss either.
It really is free
and you just need to get yourself
to some water
and get in!
