Wednesday April 22 April: Determined to battle any bulges from Easter egg indulgence, I set out on the morning of the bank holiday with a friend in tow and a vow to push my boundaries with my running a little bit.

Now I’m not sure if it was a sign of my willpower and physical ability or the power of gossip to consume the mind, but before long we had nattered our way with a light jaunt from one gate in the Phoenix Park to the other and back again.

I couldn’t believe it. Not only had we run at least 8K, we were able to talk our way through it and walk a little further to fetch a well earned coffee afterwards. I was truly delighted with myself, but I suspect I tricked my body into this surprise effort . Were I to try to do it again knowing exactly what was in store, it would be a different story. Although I’m sure the united power of thousands of gossiping women on marathon day may have the same effect. I’m quite looking forward to it now.

I went to a cardio-kick class on Tuesday where we actually boxed and kicked a little - who’d have thought such seeming acts of violence and aggression could be so much fun. It was somewhat cathartic too, by the time I’d finished I no longer felt the pressure cooker of work related stress and anxiety.

I somehow managed to replace the serenity of endorphin release with utter humiliation twenty minutes later as I joined a beginners hip hop class. Good God, I thought I had amassed a modicum of rhythm from years of dance lessons until I tried this. In fairness, we had a hard act to follow with an instructor that would have put J-Lo to shame with her moves. But I consoled myself with the thoughts that no matter how I did, it was all helping to improve my cardio fitness and another new way of getting exercise while having…er…fun. At least I was in good company. As a class were like a bunch of geriatrics let out for the evening. More of a hip-op then hip-hop brigade, but I must say it was a great laugh all the same and sure isn’t that what it’s all about?

But the big lesson of the week was about breathing. They say you should breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth – something about the best route for the oxygen coming in and the carbon monoxide going out, but I’ve discovered another reason. I went out for a trot on Thursday and while running with my mouth open I was horrified to discover a fly shot in and down my throat before I even knew what had happened. Needless to say I was repulsed and there was a brief, ungracious episode of coughing and spitting that followed. Not a very attractive look at all so I shall be keeping my mouth closed for at least the inhaling part from now on.

Next week: Having mastered her breathing, will Elaine attempt another hip-hop class or will she stick to more traditional training methods as the race gets ever closer?

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