The Franklins opened their doors to Rana, offering him a place to stay and helping him with the local geography.
With brothers Sam and Matt keen triathletes - both are competing in the age-group races on Sunday, Sam in the 20-23 age-group, and Matt in the 16-19 - mum Michelle is used to dealing with the demands of feeding athletes.
"I think all I have done this week is cook, clean-up, cook, clean-up, cook, clean-up - but it's been fantastic having him," she said.
Rana too has enjoyed the homestay, feeling more comfortable in a laid-back family atmosphere than around his fellow competitors at the official hotel.
"It gets very tense at the hotel, it is nice to be away from it," he said.
The 32-year-old is hoping his preparation in a more relaxed environment will help him to a big performance as he looks to rebuild his confidence before an Olympic year.
Rana is chasing qualification for a fourth Olympic Games in London, but after enjoying early success in the sport he has found the past four-year cycle his most difficult yet.
At 23 Rana was a world champion, winning the 2002 ITU World Championships in Mexico, before finishing runner-up to New Zealand's Hamish Carter the following year in Queenstown. He was pipped at the post by another Kiwi at the 2004 world championships in Madeira, this time finishing behind Bevan Docherty.
After tasting such highs as a youngster, Rana would soon discover the incredible lows the sport can offer, with his progress stalled over the next few years due to incessant injury.
After a disappointing 23rd placing at the Athens Olympics, Rana battled injury over the next couple of years and struggled to string any consistent results together in between long lay-offs.
"I had a lot of problems with my body after Athens, then I had to try get my fitness back and my results were not so good.
"So I spent a lot of time alone training with me and my coach, I lost sponsors, it was very hard."
Once he got his body right, his enjoyment for the sport returned and leading into the Beijing Olympics he was fighting fit again, winning the last big race leading up to the 2008 Games.
"I went to Beijing feeling very motivated," he said.
"I finish fifth but I was a good chance of a medal. It doesn't matter if you finish fifth, sixth, it is not important, the feeling before the race is very important and my feeling was I can fight for the race for sure."
Rana said he feels similarly rejuvenated heading into this weekend's event, after coming through a lean 2010.
The Spanish veteran puts his poor run of results last year down to taking a year off to concentrate on cycling.
As a young boy growing up in the small town of Ordes in the northeast of Spain, Rana dreamed of becoming a professional cyclist, so the opportunity to join pro team Xacobeo-Galicia in 2009 was too good to pass up.
"I was 29, and I thought 'it's now or never'."
It was always his intention to return to triathlon and attempt to qualify for the London Olympics, but Rana did not foresee the transition back to the multisport event would be so difficult. He said his running suffered from the year off, and it took some time to rebuild his muscles.
"The last year was so difficult for me because my results were not good.
"But this year I feel more confident and my running performance is getting back to where it was three years ago."
"I am really motivated now, I feel like a junior again - I can't wait to race," he enthused.
Top international acts
Women
1: Andrea Hewitt (NZL)
World Ranking: 2
Age: 29
Season highlights: 1st in Beijing at the World Championship Series grand final, first in World Champs Series Yokohama, 3rd at World Sprint Championships Lausanne, 3rd World Champs Series Sydney
Hewitt finished this year's ITU World Championship series in incredible style, pulling out a dominant performance to win the biggest race of the year at the Beijing grand final. Then, 10 days later, she did it again in Yokohama. Those two performances make her the female triathlete to beat right now.
2. Ai Ueda (JPN)
World ranking: 16
Age: 28
Season Highlights: 7th at World Champs Series Sydney and Kitzbuhel, 2nd ITU World Cup Monterrey
The Japanese have sent a strong team to Auckland, led by Ai Ueda, and are expected to be a force in this weekend's race as they chase Olympic qualifying points.
3. Kiyomi Niwata (JPN)
World Ranking: 28
Age: 41
Season Highlights: 1st Asian Triathlon Championships, 3rd ITU World Cup Ishigaki, 6th ITU World Cup Edmonton, 9th ITU World Champs Series Yokohama, 11th ITU World Champs Series Hamburg
One of the veterans of the women's field, 41-year-old Kiyomi started her career at ITU level in 1997, finishing 6th at the Ishigaki World Cup.
4. Nicky Samuels (NZL)
World Ranking: 29
Age: 28
Season Highlights: 1st ITU World Cup Mooloolaba, 10th ITU World Champs Series Kitzbuhel
Samuels is a strong cyclist, so the steep and technical bike leg on the Auckland course could suit her. Her love of tough bike courses was evident in Mooloolaba at the start of the year, when she rode the breakaway, splitting the field in the bike leg and went on to win.
5. Vicky Holland (GBR)
World Ranking: 33
Age: 25
Season Highlights: 1st ITU Oceania Championship Wellington, 12th ITU World Champs Series Sydney and Yokohama, 8th ITU World Cup Guatape
A frequent visitor to New Zealand, Holland won the Takapuna Contact Tri Series race in February, beating Andrea Hewitt in the process.
Men
1. Laurent Vidal (FRA)
World Ranking: 7
Age: 27
Season Highlights: Four top seven finishes in ITU World Champs Series Events this year
The partner and coach of New Zealand's Andrea Hewitt, Vidal describes himself as "49 per cent Kiwi and 51 per cent French". Vidal has qualified for the London Olympics with a sixth place finish at the London ITU event this year.
2: Bevan Docherty (NZL)
World Ranking: 16
Age: 34
Season Highlights: 1st ITU World Cup Edmonton, 10th ITU World Champs Series Kitzbuhel
Docherty won the ITU World Cup in Edmonton in July, and has not been back on the podium of the World series since. So he will be keen to take the win at home to boost what's been a lean year.
3: Ivan Rana (ESP)
World Ranking: 22
Age: 32
Season Highlights: 10th ITU World Champs Series Beijing, 5th ITU World Cup Huatulco, 7th ITU World Cup Guatape
Rana, a three-time Olympian, has a history of performing well on New Zealand soil, finishing runner-up at the 2003 ITU World Championships in Queenstown to Hamish Carter, who this weekend is competing in age group racing.
4: Jarrod Shoemaker (USA)
World Ranking: 66
Age: 29
Season Highlights: 6th ITU World Cup Monterrey, 1st ITU Pan American Cup Myrtle Beach
A Boston native and avid Red Sox fan, Shoemaker did not get into triathlonuntil 2004. By 2008 he was on the US Olympic team and in 2009 he had a huge breakthrough when he won the Hamburg ITU race.
5: Ryan Sissons (NZL)
World Ranking: 18
Age: 23
Season Highlights: 11th ITU World Champs Series Sydney, 14th ITU World Champs Series Beijing, 13th ITU World Champs Series Yokohama
Before emigrating to New Zealand as a youngster, Zimbabwe-born Sissons had never swum in the ocean. Sissons is coached by Andrew Nicholls and Chris Pilone - the man who helped guide Hamish Carter to gold in Athens - and is nipping at the heels of New Zealand's more established triathletes, Bevan Docherty and Kris Gemmell.
