And I remembered being quite adamant on New Year’s Eve that I was to get properly fit before a landmark birthday (less said the better).

That mix of guilt and over-reaction is what led to my agreeing to do the 10km Regency Run in April. And in turn it was what left me somewhere between Binley and Wolston on Saturday, making very slow progress up a false flat in the freezing rain, all my adamance dripping off my nose.

I had, of course, adopted a thoroughly sensible approach to this initial training foray. I had drawn out a map using the rather excellent distance tool at realbuzz.com, also available by following a link from the Flora London Marathon site.

I had bought a proper pair of running shoes avoiding, on the advice of the man in the shop, a certain major brand which didn’t tick all the boxes in terms of preventing injury. An injury would leave you pretty ticked off, after all.

I had also purchased what claimed to be tracksuit bottoms, but actually had more in common with tights. The particularly unflattering kind.

Unfortunately, despite all this preparation, I had neglected to stretch properly or actually take my route map with me - end result I got lost and ran four miles, my journey dotted at increasingly regular intervals by coughing fits. And that’s how I lost the ability to walk, never mind run.

So now it’s Monday morning and, a little less stiff, I am talking myself out of going out tonight, despite having identified a much more manageable mile-and-a-half in a straight line-type route.

Running, I tell myself, is not something for which I have any sort of natural predisposition. During the last 20 million years of evolution short legs and long arms have proved perfect for swinging through trees. But for progress on foot it’s less than ideal.

Then my disappointment at an unusually primitive body design is shattered by she who shall remain nameless. She has hit upon a novel idea - I will take my kit to work and she will drop me off a mile or so short of home tonight. I shall stretch thoroughly and then run home.

“That way, you are running towards your cigarette,” she says, a reference to one of the two cigarettes I currently smoke each day. She is brilliant, if cruel, and I have a long way to go.

l Last year the Regency Run, sponsored by Wright Hassall, raised £20,000 for good causes. This year’s event is on April 6. The closing date is March 30 but early entry is advised to avoid disappointment. Entry forms are available from:

www.wrighthassall.co.uk

as well as gyms and sports shops in Leamington and Warwick. For further information contact Russell Hall on 07980 660 783 or email:

marketing@wrighthassall.co.uk

l Are you in training for the Regency Run - email your experiences to:

tom.sales@leamingtoncourier.co.uk