A couple of years ago, running showed me that things I had previously thought were impossible were actually within my grasp with a bit of hard work and application. When faced with a brick wall I think back to the days when I couldn’t run for a mile without stopping and collapsing in a big heap. Back then, running a marathon seemed impossible. Well, we all know how that turned out.

I reminded myself of this as I got frustrated at not being able to master total immersion swimming. As I sunk to the bottom of the pool instead of gliding smoothly through the water, I told myself to be patient and it would come.

But running is something you can do by yourself, out of the sight of other, faster runners. At the swimming pool I was faced with those fish-like people who seemed to slip through the water length after length, barely seeming to come up for air. I wanted to be one of those fish-people. I compared myself to them and I got even more frustrated.

The wisdom from my swim coach, to be patient and it would happen, to abandon hope but keep the faith and the strange swimming drills, slowly but surely started to work. Week after week I spent less time at the bottom of the pool, drank less water and became more fish-like.

Last night my coach shook my hand and said: “Congratulations, you’re ready for the advanced class.” I’d just swam two lengths of the pool front crawl. This was the test that needed to be completed before I could go any further. It was just 50 meters in total but I was as happy as if I’d just swam The Channel.

I’m not there yet, but very slowly, I’m becoming a swimmer and getting closer to keeping that promise I made to Chrissie.