21 May 2010 (Fitness)

 Words: Mike Sheridan

The countdown to the Ironman 70.3 in Germany has started ticking in my head - seriously, it's actually stopping me from sleeping. While I've been hitting the pool harder than ever at One Escape, and getting always great lessons from Wicklow Triathlon Club's John Doyle, I decided that a change of scenery might be in order. That change of scenery was Club La Santa in Lanzarote; a Mecca for the fittest people on earth, and those just looking to go on a healthy holiday, sans copious amounts of booze, and giddy reps trying to get you into bars. Needless to say, I've never seen so many sculpted torsos in my life - and that's just the women.

Both Ryanair and Aer Lingus fly to Arrecife Airport in Lanzarote, and shopping around a few months before, I got two flights from Ryanair.com for under €600, including the €80 fee for taking over my new bike, Jessica. Taking her apart the night before and stuffing her into a Bike Travel Case I rented was heartbreaking to say the least, and probably should've been done a day or two before, not at midnight, when our flight was due out at 6.40am. I've had the distinct displeasure of that flight numerable times before when interviewing famous folk in London, and it knocks the shit out of you. Expecting to endure a four hour odd flight and then train, was not something I had high hopes of happening. After landing, about €35 in a cab and 25 minutes later, we were at the gorgeous resort. Tanned, toned Scandinavians as far as the eye could see. There were folk here who are obviously very serious about their training, but plenty of your average family's knocking about also - just as we expected. The former motivated us to get into our training gear, and out for a trail run.

Club La Santa has been specifically built around areas ideal for running and cycling through. The roads are depressingly pothole free, and the trails absolutely gorgeous - occupying the brain so much, you won't notice the sweat pumping from your forehead, and exhaustion creeping its way through your body. I clocked just over 12k, while my companion, Lin, put in a brave 8k, and headed back to our bright, third floor apartment, facing the outdoor training track and tennis courts. The mornings running and cycling sessions', supervised by the chirpy and enthusiastic trainers at the resort, also started there; we woke up to many a runner/cyclist/aerobics instructor vocally motivating themselves and others. You can't really go and have a mars bar from breakfast then (ahem, not that I normally do that or anything), so we'd then head The Pool Bar, which was located a mere 100 yards from our apartment, load up on some delicious scrambled eggs and toast, and either head out to run, or get down to the pool. Club La Santa has a frolic pool for kids and families, and a serious 50 metre Olympic pool, which was generally frequented by elites; the full Lanzarote Ironman was taking place nigh on a week or two after we left, so the pro's were everywhere.

When at the resort and planning on heading out for a long bike or run, I highly recommend utilising the resort's trainers. They have detailed and extremely helpful timetables, where you can pick and choose from pretty much any form of exercise you're interested in, or just head to the well-equipped gym yourself. But, if you're planning on a four hour cycle, then go out with one of the cycle groups first so you have an idea where to go and won't get lost. Of course the option was always there to just chill by the pool, and after a double running session that left me burnt, I actually spent a day doing just that. Felt like a waste when there was so much going on, but my stupidity in not putting on enough sunscreen before an afternoon run was the only thing I could blame. It's not a particularly bar-heavy resort, and the town of La Santa is tiny, but there are a couple of places located within minutes of your apartment where you can put the feet up and have a beer. Just make sure to keep hydrated - it was extremely hot while we were there and will get hotter as it moves deeper into the summer. 

All in all, I genuinely could not recommend this place highly enough. We were going to go a couple of years ago, but went on a package holiday instead, and I regretted that as soon as we arrived at Club La Santa. The one thing I would say is bring a laptop, or portable DVD player with you, if you're not planning on heading out every night. You have to rent a TV, and DVDs; so if you've got a couple of box-sets waiting to be dove into, then it's the ideal opportunity to do just that. I came back from holiday even more motivated, tanned, fitter and with an inkling to go back - which I will be, very soon. 

 

 

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