Heather Fell, Olympic modern pentathlete silver medalist, writes about her life 'on and off' the track.

WINTER has arrived and I embraced the fact with a weekend full of seasonal activities.

Friday night I enjoyed the firework spectacle on Plymouth Hoe, which was somehow timed to perfection, fitting in between the heavy showers. However, there was a little dampener on the evening, or should I say my phone!

It's too traumatic to fully describe where or how my phone died a sad death, but it was submerged in water for nearly five seconds. After desperate attempts to dry it under a hand dryer there was very little life remaining, once home there was none. It's sad how much I rely on my iphone, for email, twitter, texts and more, so I was feeling pretty lost without it. But a night on the Aga gave hope, and somehow two days later it made a full recovery. I am one lucky girl.

n Saturday's highlight was watching a true winter sport at Sandy Park, home to Exeter Chiefs rugby where the Chiefs conceded another convincing win, this time over the well renowned London Wasps.

n Sunday started with some more fresh air when I ventured out in search of sloe berries. I was pleasantly surprised to find them in abundance — unusual for so late in the year – all the more for the Sloe gin!

It was then time for something a little more active, with my first cross-country race of the season. I ran a hard yet positive race. Considering I'm only at the end of my fourth week of training I felt quite strong, even if not that fit. However, I was not the only runner competing for Tavistock AC in the Plymouth leg of the Westward League; the sea of black, red and white vests — especially in the senior women's race — was impressive, with several newcomers doing the club proud. Keep up the good work ladies!