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

IT was brought to my attention earlier this week that there is a national campaign for a 'dry January' – disappointingly this only seems to apply to the consumption of alcohol and not the weather.

There is a longstanding British tradition of making compulsory new year resolutions but why do we do it? Is it simply the peer pressure? I've resisted announcing any specific resolutions as I feel there are so many things I need to work towards that the list would be too long. Perhaps that is just a get out clause and one that I've been quite grateful for; so far, thanks to the ridiculously wet start to the year, my first goal is proving difficult to achieve.

It seems like more than nine months ago I first started riding a road bike and I managed to exceed my target of covering 6,000 miles. Having reached that distance relatively comfortably, it seems natural to try and better that this year; I do have an extra three months available. Alas I've not started strongly: if the roads are not submerged by flood water then they are covered in debris and far more appropriate for mountain bikes.

I can empathise with anyone who has new fitness goals for their resolutions. I am always a strong advocate of getting outside to exercise as this not only saves on gym membership but the feel good factor from fresh air and daylight is superb. I also find having a specific target helps whether that is to complete a certain event or try a new sport — mine is to return to full running fitness.

Last week I took part in the Plym Valley Parkrun — a sociable 5k free event and the buzz I had from it really has given me that drive to recover from my injury