Getting my mojo back

Since I last blogged I seem to, touch wood, have finally found my mojo again. I am back in full training and well...loving it! It, as before, is giving me that focus and drive I thrive off and massively helping my mental health.

What is also keeping me really motivated and excited is the imminent return to my second home; Lanzarote. For those who do not know this is where I lived for a year training for Kona as well as where I met Nathan and my lovely friend (who as you'll have read/can read about in my previous blog post) Sam. So an emotional place to return to but also one surrounded with so many happy memories. As I wrote in Sam's eulogy (seen on my previous post) I never was one to believe in all things spiritual, but Lanzarote...well it IS my spiritual home. It is mine, and Nathan's, refuge and escape. Both turning to the island when we needed it the most. Call it running away if you want, but it's a special island that seems to cleanse us. So given recent events, the timing to return is perfect (getting us back however is another issue). To many I am just going on holiday to an island I know like the back of my hand. Many may not get why we return to the same place. However, it is more than that. I am going home.

Club La Santa

As well as going back to have some time out and see friends, the time away was booked around trying to get a solid block of training in for me. Lanzarote is well known (and feared) for its brutal conditions (hot & windy) and unforgiving mountains. Therefore making it one of the best places to train. The infamous Club La Santa is a triathlete's mecca and that is where we are heading to. It's the other side of the island to where I lived previously in Costa Teguise, but it is perfect base for us as a family. Of course, the boys will be coming. It'll be there first time on a plane (God help me for those 4 hours) and their first time in real hot weather. I cannot wait to show them the island where mummy and daddy met.

As I mentioned this trip is an amazing opportunity to not only push my fitness forward but also keep my motivation up. Of course I am nowhere near as bike fit as I was when living in Lanzarote but that won't stop me pushing myself up and around the smooth tarmacked road. It is bike miles I really want to get in, something I lack in the UK due to weather, time and road constraints. Every time you go and cycle in the UK you're essentially taking your life in your own hands. I can't remember the last ride, no matter how small, where I haven't had a close call with a car passing too close due to impatience or ignorance.

Running with my boys

As well as cycling I want to continue the progress with my running, which I finally feel some fluidity, and dare I say, enjoyment, in. I have had to ramp up the run training very quick at the beginning of February however. With a sprained ankle that took longer to heal than I ever imagined and then all the events over the end of last year,meant I lost all my motivation and a lot of fitness. I had a stark thought that I was not ready for The London Marathon in April which I have been signed up for through a charity. Having known about my entry for over a year I really wanted to be in top condition for a 4 hour marathon but life as ever threw me curve-balls. I know I won't get that time but my running has come along really well very quickly by being smart. I hit a half marathon training run in 2h08 this week (whilst pushing the boys in the buggy for half of it) and aiming to hit 16 miles this weekend. I know as ever I am not breaking records with my run times, but I am injury free, running comfortably and excited once more. (I also have to add if anyone is interested in sponsoring me the link is here. I find asking for sponsorship really difficult especially given my previous endeavours, but I have had 4 years out of racing, had 2 children and getting back to endurance fitness is bloody hard work. I really have been pushing myself to get out and do this prestigious event some justice. More than that however it is an amazing cause, mental health being a cause very close to my heart, affecting not only me but my nearest and dearest.)

As ever with triathlon there is one other discipline, what was my favourite sport since cycling took over and actually got me into triathlon; swimming. With two 50m pools in Club La Santa, an open water lagoon on site, and of course the sea, teamed with the sun, swimming will definitely be in the agenda too! Swimming however as much as I do enjoy it, is always better with company and structure. So even more excitingly I have got myself on a swim camp which happens to be on whilst I am at Club La Santa. Dan Bullock, the head coach of the event, from Swim for Tri is a very well respected swim coach. Our paths have crossed quite a few times throughout my triathlon endeavours. In fact Dan was the first coach I ever had at the very beginning of my triathlon journey back in 2011, where at university I signed up for his open water swim sessions in Hyde Park's Lido. I also mentioned his influence on my triathlon 'career' in my book. I am so excited to be going to his swim camp, and despite swimming coming easy to me I have had over 3 years out from solid swim training and as with everything there is always something to learn. I have lost a lot of swim fitness and with swimming being a technique based discipline I really will be all ears!

On another note I also feel I have got my nutrition and drinking under control. My weight being a huge source of frustration for me given my difficulty to lose weight given all my efforts (eating well and training hard). However, I am looking into functional medicine privately to try and get to the root cause as I and my family are adamant something isn't right. The fact I am now doing something about this is a huge source of comfort for me. I may finally get some answers. Furthermore, I also haven't felt the need to drink every night. In fact up until now I have only drunk once a week and only when I really wanted to. As well as this my energy, or lack thereof, was something I was really struggling with recently. It does seem though that the cut down in alcohol, increase in exercise and nutrition has helped that too. During the last month I had been having a full night of sleep and finding myself unable to function so had to go back to sleep during the day. Just making it through a day was so hard. Fast forward to now, I have worked in London doing 12 hour shifts (excluding the 3 hour travel) for 4 days in a row, with tiredness of course, but not exhaustion. Moreover, despite not being as quick as I would like or imagine it should be given my diet and training, I am slowly but surely and most importantly healthily loosing weight. Half a stone down in 2.5 weeks. All of these points prove it really is amazing what the right diet and exercise plan can do for yourself inside out.


It has to also be said things aren't all rosy at home. Nathan has been struggling mentally after the loss of his dad and subsequent family upheavel but with a plan in place, my now positive outlook (as Nathan and I thrive of each others energy) and the return to our second home I hope it is upwards from here.

Thanks for reading xx

The countdown is on