Kerri-Anne Payne knows a thing or two about swimming in lakes. She’s two-time World 10km Open Water Champion and Olympic silver medalist over the distance. She was kind enough to have a chat with me and offer some swimming advice.

I’m not looking forward to winter training in the pool now I’ve discovered the joys of open water. How do you make training in the pool as interesting as open water swimming?

All my training is done in the pool. I have to swim 70,000 meters every week and it’s difficult to log accurately in open water. Getting up at 5am in winter is not fun but having a training group of people doing the same stuff helps. Our coach makes every session different so we focus on different areas from session to session.

I like having a lake or lane to myself. I don’t like hundreds of arms and legs trashing about near my head. Any tips for events with mass swim starts?

If you you’re uncomfortable that, wait at the back or at the side of the pack and you shouldn’t have any issues. It’s also good to remember that 99% of the time, if someone hits you it’s accidental and they haven’t done it deliberately.

What training do you do outside of the pool to help your swimming?

I do some running every week because it keep s by body toned. I find yoga is good for core strength and for making sure my shoulder joints are in a good condition. I also do two gym circuits – mainly cardio, push ups, sit ups and jumps.

Where’s your favourite open water swim in the UK? Where should I go exploring next swim summer?

I would have said Windermere because it’s such a great place for open water swimming. But now that’s been overtaken by Loch Lomond. I swam there recently and the water was beautiful, the surroundings are stunning – I loved it.

Swimming makes me hungry. I always have a craving for salt and vinegar crisps after. What do you eat?

For me it’s not always about having something that I always want but something that’s good nutrition wise. I tend to eat lots of bananas. After an open water swim though we’ll always have a can of coke to help settle the stomach.

What’s your advice to anyone wanting to get into or improve their swimming?

I would say it’s more enjoyable if you change it up each session. On session work on legs, next session work on arms. Having a goal and something that you can target and look forward to, like the Swim Britain events, will help you keep training in the winter months as will having a buddy or someone to train with.