Wednesday, May 6: I fell off the wagon big time this week.

My niece Sammy, who is my inspiration for taking part in the race, is over for a visit from the States and as predicted she is consuming much of my attention. But, if I am honest the wheels were coming loose long before she landed. I managed a good run on Monday and again on Wednesday but with a wedding in Bordeaux it took very little to distract me from my training plan. While it was one of the best weddings I have attended, exercise went out the window for the long weekend - unless you count dancing my legs off on the dance floor or manoeuvring across cobblestones on a regular basis in very high heels to get from my living quarters to the reception.

My sister’s latest efforts as a self-styled Betty Crocker haven’t helped. She’s been churning out cookies, muffins and gingerbread on a daily basis which I find hard to resist. I’m far too fond of treating myself when temptation is staring me in the face at home. I've told her that I will taste one cake for every one she tastes – that’s put a stop to her culinary gallop and the diet is back on track.

My exercise made a brief recovery at the end of the week as I joined a friend who walks with his dogs in our area. Having set out to get a breath of fresh air, I wound up with two toned arms from trying to control a gorgeous, but frisky, dog. The excursion ended badly when we realised we were locked into the grounds of Malahide Castle. The wall-scaling with dogs in tow that ensued was, I’m sure, highly amusing for anyone lucky enough to catch us in action. I made it over without injury and it was at least a fun, active end to a not so active training week.

I’ve only five weeks to go before the big day and I’m hoping there’s little to tempt me to slack off, but with the lack of consistency to date I can only imagine what’s in store. On a positive note, I am feeling fitter and healthier than ever before, so I must be doing something right. I try to convince myself that a little treat every now and then can do no harm.

Next week: Will Elaine get back into her groove with only a few weeks left before the big day?

Elaine is running for her niece Sam. If you'd like to donate to Elaine's charity, email runningforsammy@gmail.com. You can find out more about Children's Interstitial Lung Disease here .

- Elaine Roddy