In January 2021, we were under a strict COVID-19 related lockdown in the UK. It was the third lockdown and I felt time was slipping away while we just stayed at home or close to home. At this point, I had been in Liverpool for nearly two years and knew nothing about the area I was living in. My paddling experience in the area was limited to the Liverpool docks and the Liverpool-Leeds canal which made me sad as I realised I was just about two hours away from the Lake District and less than an hour away from North Wales.
I thought about doing a year long challenge to explore the stunning North West and paddling in 35 different water bodies before my 35th birthday in December. When I initially made a list of water bodies close to home, the challenge felt very achievable.
Fast forward to April 2021, I had paddled in just a few water bodies because of lockdown restrictions of staying local and building anxiety about driving too far on my own. I wasn't too worried as I had all summer to do my challenge. When the warmer weather hit us, I got completely immersed in coaching at the club, gaining my sea kayak award and enjoying coastal journeys on my board and kayak. The challenge was a thing that haunted me every week but to be honest, I have no memory as to why I didn't do more exploring over the summer.
By September 2021 I had managed to paddle in about 14 different water bodies thanks to various training weekends and a holiday in North Wales. I remember feeling so proud of having been in 14 different places but the thought of going to 21 more places felt too daunting. I thought about giving up at that point, and at several points after that. Looking for places to paddle was hard for me, as I was usually by myself. I paddled on lakes, rivers, canals, estuaries- the lot, but I felt like I was running out of places.
Surprisingly, I did the bulk of this challenge over the autumn-winter months; battling a combination of waning motivation, dwindling energy levels, a fuel crisis, another COVID-19 crisis (!) and planning a wedding. It wasn't the typical endurance challenge over a week or month, but one that challenged me every day through the year. I desperately wanted to feel the sense of achievement as I inched towards 35, but I didn't. There was overwhelming anxiety around planning these trips, mainly because I was on my own for about half of these paddles and looking for suitable launch points is more than "go look up the gopaddling app". Towards the end, it became a little bit less about beautiful days of paddling and more about crossing places off a list.
Doing a challenge like this is supposed to be motivating, challenging and rewarding. While I'm definitely proud of myself for completing this challenge and exploring so many water bodies in the North West, I don't think 2022 will see me paddle 36 places before my 36th birthday!
The point of this post is not to discourage you from planning your own challenges, but if there is something you could learn from my experience let it be that sometimes "go big or go home" isn't the right approach towards personal development or getting a sense of achievement. Some people are able to complete such challenges and maybe even thrive on the long term challenge; but friends, that is not me.
I'm choosing a different goal for myself this year, which is to commit to one micro-adventure a month, while incorporating paddling in beautiful places near or far. I am absolutely raring to go and complete my assessments to become a fully independent paddlesports coach this year, which will allow me to be closer to my long term goals.