Hi, my name is Vicky and I am an open water swimmer. You may now be wondering why I am writing a blog about walking, but walking is something that a few years ago I struggled to do. I was diagnosed with a condition called degenerative disc disease, which left me unable to walk properly for several months and some days I couldn’t even walk from room to room in my own house without severe pain. Swimming was my rehabilitation and I fell in love with it so much I became an open water coach.
When lockdown happened, I was unable to swim so I decided to start walking. What started out as a quick walk around my village every day, soon turned into a personal challenge and I found I was walking 10km a day minimum. With the support of Her Spirit I went on to complete the full marathon distance of 26.2 miles in one walk during the lockdown and raised money for a domestic violence charity in the process. I walked so much i wore out two pairs of trainers too!
Walking has now become part of my life, even though I am back in the water I still find time to enjoy my daily walks. I love the great outdoors and often combine my walks with finding new open water spots to swim in and am blessed with both coastal and countryside walks in the part of Essex I live in.