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

ANOTHER weekend in London and another mini gripe - again health related. This issue does not have a direct effect on my personal new year's resolutions but is bound to discourage those who have vowed to get physically fitter.

In need of another swim session last week I popped down to the local council run pool in Putney. Maybe I'm out of touch as a spoilt athlete but I was shocked at that a public swim session ticket cost almost five pounds. The fact that a certain well-known big burger meal is cheaper than an exercise session is surely wrong; what sort of message does this send out to our increasingly obese population? I should probably end my tirade there as I have just realised I am half way through a chocolate bar as I type.

One thing I learned this weekend, cost is comparative. While some of us might find the aforementioned swim session a little pricey, that to the average 'shopper' at the Sunseeker end of the London Boat Show would be insignificant. This year's show was combined with the Outdoor and Bike Show at the Excel arena. As well as so many amazing boats, bikes, holidays, clothes and gadgets to drool over there is always the added entertainment of people watching, from just observing the majority of the clientele you would know where you are within the show.

In need of fresh air I went for a run around the docks in East London. I was aware it had been snowing a little while I'd been at the show but I wasn't expecting to run for an hour in the city and not catch a glimpse of tarmac on the pavements. The most surreal part was running in the thick squeaky snow while hearing the whirring of the cable cars overhead; the only missing factor was the mountains!