When it rains it pours

 The name of this blog makes reference to a few things. Firstly it is a reminder that you can never predict Lanzarote weather and the extremity of it. When it is hot it is sweltering, when it is windy its a gale and when it rains, well...(as the blog title suggests) it pours as Amy, Nathan and I found out when on a 3 hour bike ride the other day. We left in beautiful sunshine with Amy stating "This is a perfect day for a ride". An hour in the clouds had descended but we continued on. When the rain began to spit we turned around hoping we would out ride it. We had no such luck and then got absolutely sodden (we however weren't like some who hid in the petrol station!). I personally have never cycled in such awful conditions and struggled to see when descending as the hail was battering my eyes.
 The other reason for my blog title is that whenever I seem to make changes they all happen at once and happen very quickly. For this I will back track and explain this in more detail. My previous and rather emotional blog explained about the smallness of Lanzarote and some of the negativity I have received whilst being here. This has not been the majority but it is said that the negative comments are the ones you seem to remember over the positive. In all honesty it did make me question my move and by the end of my first 2 months in Lanzarote I was ready to go home and see my family. I flew back to the UK on the 23rd December and was staying for 3 weeks to celebrate the festive period and celebrate my friends wedding (the first of my friends to be getting married). I'm not going to go into too much detail into what I got up to in the UK as much of it was getting a little bit too merry chilling with my amazing family and seeing friends in London.

My Dad and I

What was lovely is that Nathan managed to come out for two weeks of it and we had a lovely time eating and drinking together and meeting the family. It made us both put perspective on what we want in life now and in the future. The main thing it made me realise is that England is where I eventually want to end up. Lanzarote is a beautiful place and where my journey continues for now but being a family person I want to end up living back in my home country in the future. It meant a lot for me to know this and also further cemented me and Nathan. With us both realising our future ambitions we went back to Lanzarote after my friends wedding with a little bit of sadness. It was hard to say goodbye to my family and again tears were shed. I wouldn't be returning until April which I worked out would be the longest time I had ever been out of the country for. The UK after all will always be home.

Ice skating with Nathan in winter wonderland - Hyde Park

 However, I also went back to Lanzarote with a much needed focus. I had had my off season and I had had an indulgent holiday in the UK (where I disgustingly did no exercise AT ALL!). This self loathing of myself gave me the push to get my arse into gear. This is MY year. I have a once in a lifetime opportunity to race in Kona and I want to do it justice to my best ability. I also am more determined than ever to do Ironman Lanzarote this May well. I want to finish in a time I am proud of, mainly so that I never have to do that brutal race ever again! I messed up last year, now it's time to do me and my parents proud as well as prove my naysayers wrong. Kona is my focus this year and that will never change but Lanza will be the confidence boost I need to push throughout the year until the 10th October.
 This new attitude was also based on me wanting to be settled and I had a plan to get that. I wanted to move out of the area I was in (El Cuchillo) as the negativity of La Santa was getting me down (I'm really not going to delve on this any more but I was ready to go). So day 2 of being back on the rock I began looking at new flats. I had decided during December I wanted to make the transition to Sands Beach in Costa Teguise. I wrote a blog recently on the amazing work that 16 x Ironman champion and now ex pro Bella Bayliss is doing there with the Triathlon club there; Tri Activ. This has a heavy influence on getting the generation into triathlon something that I fully support and respect. Even with the short time I spent there last year I got a good vibe from Sands. As a resort they are more welcoming and inclusive to all as opposed to some of the pretentiousness that surrounds Club La Santa. (I am aware that this view on La Santa will be opposed by many people but I am just being honest about the vibe it gives off to me whilst living here. I have however made some friends from there and this is nothing bad about them personally). I also felt that a move to Costa Teguise would offer me more in terms of lifestyle due to it being a bigger town. After all although I am taking training seriously there needs to be a balance in life to enjoy what I do and get the rewards. It would also mean I could be more settled in an environment I am comfortable in which could only help me mentally and aid my training. Another thing that was discussed in the UK was getting a coach so that I have a proper structure that is actually going to get me faster (which of course is the ultimate goal). Considering I wanted to move to Costa Teguise and Sands Beach it therefore made sense to contact Bella Bayliss and ask for her help as a coach.     

 I think anyone who lives in Lanzarote can vouch that things happen slowly over here, it's the Canarian way. However, my recent move is probably the fasted anything has happened over here. I viewed a flat on Wednesday at 4pm (a day after landing back), decided it was the one and then had the keys Thursday morning. I was not moving in alone, Nathan had decided this move was right for him too to train himself and support me. After some manic packing we spent our first night in the new apartment on Friday. Already I feel settled in my new surroundings that I have made my space. We have a beautiful view of the sea and are a 5 minute walk to Sands Beach one way, a one minute walk to a supermarket and a 3 minute walk to a selection of restaurants, cafe's and bars. It really is perfect.

The view from the balcony

To top all this off I now have Bella as my coach and her strength can only get me stronger. Whatever peoples opinions are on coach Brett Sutton, he has trained some of the best Ironmen to be who they are, Bella included, and her style of coaching is much like his - hard work pays off! She has already changed my swim technique as I swam 'too pretty' in her eyes. I remember reading it in Chrissie Wellingtons' book once regarding when to breathe. She stated, why would you practice breathing every three if in a race you breathe every two? This was the first question Bella asked me and I haven't looked back. I now attack the water and breathe every two. If this is how to become a champion then I'll follow that lead, although I only ever want to be a champion to myself. Another positive (yes they don't stop at the moment) is I am now 5 minutes from Amy Kilpin who made the move to train here since I persuaded her to in November. She has now become the other part to my relationship with Nathan and we are now an 'us' (I don't expect anyone to understand but we all just 'get' on so well it's almost weird but bloody works!).

 I am now on day 3 of Bella's training plan and I am being pushed harder and further than ever but I am loving it and buzzing from the feeling of working hard. As one of my favourite quotes states, "Nothing great is easy". There is SO much more to come and I am not sorry for the positivity of this post but life in Lanzarote is bloody good. It's also my birthday tomorrow so I am looking forward to a nice meal with friends and then Friday is Amy's birthday so we are having a joint night out on the town. I am so excited to share the evening with 30 of the friends I have made out here. I feel like a very lucky girl right now and thank everyone, particularly my parents, for supporting me as they have. I will be coming back to the UK eventually, I made that promise to my sister, but this is my year and I'm going to make it one to remember!