I’ve been to the osteopath. She’s kindly reminded me that perhaps the fact that IT bands in both knees are screaming is a plea for me to stop running on them. I’ve promised I will. Next year. Just a couple more challenges to face and then … then I’ll stop running. I’ve promised not to run for four weeks! I’ve promised I’ll row instead – or spin. God, I’m such a liar! I’ve already failed miserably. But not too, too, tooooooooooooo...

I will NOT be beaten at the first bloomin’ hurdle, I say. Argh! I hate this, I hate this, I HATE this! Sometimes I just wish I was one of those people who hated exercise and was content to sick on my backside all day playing ‘slob’ and not caring about anything in the world. But I’m not one of them! I’ve always been active and always been competitive. I thought I’d lost that competitive edge but apparently it keeps creeping up in conversation and I have quite...