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

IT seems that I was complaining prematurely about the weather in Font Romeu in the French Pyrennees; a week later and all we've had is glorious sunshine. Sorry, I'm not trying to rub it in and if it makes you feel any better I'm not here on holiday but training extremely hard everyday.

It has been great to be in one place for over a week now, I'm able to really focus on every session and just as importantly rest well. We actually had the Sunday off but in need of entertainment the coaches drove us to the nearby lake. The picturesque setting may seem a little tame in comparison to our Westcountry coasts but there was a perfect blue sky accompanied by a breeze. Maybe due to me being the only southerner or just an outdoors type of girl I was apparently the only one with any sailing knowledge. I do have some rusty memories of being cold and wet out in a dingy on Plymouth Sound or the muddy River Tamar as a child. So I'm proud to say that I led the way — well helmed – and took a couple of the girls out on a small catamaran. It certainly seems more pleasant when no wetsuits are needed and you don't have tides and big ships to negotiate.

Tavistock becomes much busier during the school holidays but I've never noticed such a considerable change as I have out here. Font Romeu is a small picturesque town in the Pyrennees consisting of a few restaurants, knick-knack stores and not much more. A month ago the town was empty, returning this time it's heaving. There's street entertainment, a huge market, double the shops and restaurants open and an abundance of French tourists. This reminded me of the effect of Britain's August bank holiday weekend — I land on Friday afternoon hoping to head home to Devon — wish me luck!