There have been some difficult ‘memories’ pop up in my time hop this week. Around this time 6 years ago I was flirting with the idea of qualifying for GB. This time five years ago, I was standing next to my friend Rachel holding her Olympic torch, after a qualifier race in Northamptonshire, England. This time two years ago I still had my mother with me on this earth. How time changes everything. 

It’s really easy to look back and regret things.

I regret not going straight back to England when mum called me to tell me she had cancer.

I regret not losing weight and finding sport much earlier in my life. 

I regret leaving England when I did, and turning down my automatic qualifier spot on team GB in Turkey for the 2013 European Triathlon championships. 

The thing is, we cannot change the past, only the future. I came back from my holiday is week and the automatic default if to groan at the thought of going back to work. Yes, but I LOVE my work, it’s something I have chosen to do. That thought alone isn’t something I’m used to. I look at the likes of the guy who gave me SUP lessons and think ‘what a cool job’. Then I stop and think: I have a job like that too.

Actually, there’s a lot to love about life, if you stop and look.