Greetings from the Canary Islands, which have been my home from home for the past six weeks. I’ve been training at the Playitas sports resort in Fuerteventura since late January (having been in Lanzarote before that) and can’t say I’ve been missing the British winter too much. When I left the UK in early January I had enjoyed plenty of time off after a great 2011 season and certainly wasn’t feeling too fit. Fast forward a few weeks (and a few zillion swim-bike-run miles) and I can quite safely say that I’ve enjoyed laying the foundations for the year ahead.

In terms of my race season this year, in many ways it will be similar to 2011 with the focus being the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas in September. I’m also proud to continue being a Wiggle-sponsored athlete and will say right here, right now, that I could not have achieved what I did last year without Wiggle’s phenomenal support. Here’s to another corker of a year!

Chartered accountants Morris Owen and telecoms firm Virtua also remain loyal and generous sponsors this year and their support has undoubtedly played a vital role in my development over the past few seasons. I’m already looking forward to a few training rides with the Virtua guys. The early season “sprinting for signs” ride last year obviously did me no harm :)

Not everything remains the same for 2012 and perhaps the most exciting change for me is a new coach in the shape of Matt Dixon of purplepatch fitness. Matt is without doubt one of the world’s finest elite triathlon coaches and I am already witnessing first hand just why this is. Mind you, I’m not always that pleasant about him after a beast of a session! I’ve been training a lot with fellow purplepatch athlete and good friend Rachel Joyce and Matt has certainly been putting us through it while we’ve been here in Playitas. I think I know every single tile on the bottom of the 50m pool!

Like last year, my first race of the season will be the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon on March 3. With its 3K swim, 200K bike and 20K run, it is by no means an easy season opener, but I’m sure it’ll be a lot of fun.

I have a few days left here at Playitas before returning home to chilly Blighty. For those who’ve not been before, Playitas is an awesome training camp base which offers everything a cyclist or triathlete could want: year-round sunshine, first-class facilities, great restaurants and friendly, helpful staff. There are more than a few famous triathlon faces here with the likes of Rasmus Henning, Dirk Bockel, Javier Gomez, Seb Kienle, Andi Bocherer and plenty of others basing themselves here through the winter months. Triathletes are renowned for their rather large appetites so it’s no surprise that the breakfast and dinner buffets here have gained cult status among the athletes. Anyone who follows me on Twitter will probably be bored to death by now of my (mild? No, manic!) obsession with the buffet – but come and check it out and you’ll see why! (To find out more about Playitas, visit www.trips4fitness.com)

That’s enough from me. I’ll be back on the blog again soon, but for now I’ll say adios as – guess what? It’s buffet time…

Happy training!
EK