ONE of the privileges of my job is getting to spend time in some beautiful locations – and that is certainly true this week.

I’m at a team training camp in a tiny beachside town called Stinson Beach, which is about an hour’s drive north of San Francisco.

The town feels so remote that it could be hours from anywhere – civilisation feels like it’s a long way away!

This is part of the appeal of the location; we can simply focus on training with minimal distractions.

We’re staying in two stunning holiday homes, which are set on the lagoon in which we swim each day.

Note – the ocean here is seriously shark-infested so swim training there is not a smart option.

Our days obviously all have a similar theme: train, eat, recover, train, eat, recover – are you getting the hang of this yet?

Some days are tougher than others, we tend to hit one or two big days then pull back and recover before going again.

Many people forget that it’s not the training that makes you stronger and fitter, but the adaptations that come from resting and recovering after the training’s done.

For this reason, sleep, rest and recovery are absolutely vital in order to make the biggest gains.

Our camp is one week long and runs until Tuesday and then it’ll be time to head back home to San Francisco.

I’ll be at home for about a week before flying to Houston ahead of Ironman 70.3 Texas in Galveston, which is my next race on April 26.

You always know you’re into the thick of race season when your suitcase is rarely unpacked and you’re always on the go.

It is one of the more challenging parts of this job, but you learn to find the routine in the lack of routine. Home is wherever my bike bag is at this time of the year.

I’m looking forward to returning to Texas – it’s a race I won in 2013 and finished second there last year.

Thank you to my sponsors, including Swindon’s Morris Owen Chartered Accountants and Virtua UK, for their continued help and support.

I’ll be sure to update my Twitter and Instagram (@eklidbury) with my latest training and racing adventures and regularly post updates on my blog at www.eklidbury.co.uk.

More from me in a couple of weeks.