On our last full day at Club La Santa we were up in good time for morning gymnastics and then managed to keep up with the run leader on the daily 3Km run. Our reward was fresh bread and croissant for breakfast – do we know how to live or what!?

I went out cycling and just for variety, in addition to the 25-30mph wind, it was drizzling up on the hilltops. As luck would have it, especially given it was the last day, I worked out a slightly different route which included an 8 mile loop that kept me out of the worst of the headwind AND there was a place for coffee!! As before I finished the day with a swim – my own little daily triathlon.

Now the focus is on cycling. Funnily enough it was quite windy here on Saturday and Sunday but unlike Lanzarote there are loads of places for coffee and even a bacon bap for fuel. The next phase is to cycle every day, slowly increasing distances so my legs get used to longer and longer days riding. The last 4 days I’ve averaged 40-45 miles per day and it’s certainly starting to feel easier. 

The increased levels of exercise over the last 12 days has made me not only (understandably) hungry, but also needing to replace the calories I have burned during the day. That means for instance that in addition to my basic daily calorie intake I need to replace the 2200/2500 calories I burn during the rides (45 mile) to ensure I do not lose more weight and have sufficient energy the next day. It’s very different to normal when you’re looking around for things you can eat which are highly calorific!

During the main ride I reckon I need to eat 5500-6000 calories per day to ‘break even’ energy-wise. That’s about 10 Big Macs or 9 Pizza Express American pizzas…… The possibilities are endless – I may give up a pizza for a tub of Haagan Daz ice cream.