Jack frost has srrived in London. Presumably he didn’t use public transport to get here because that is letting us down for the time being. Wednesday and Thursday I ran down the Thames at lunchtime expecting to see people in Victorian dress scating across its frozen surface. It was pretty cold.

What surprised me more than my ability to not hide under my desk and refuse to train was what I saw when I had actually laced up my trainers and started running. I saw men, grown men running around in shorts and t-shirts as though they were running Marathon de Sables.

Guys, don’t be a hero. Most of these short and t-shirt wearers were running in pairs which makes me think there was some sort of macho competitive thing going on. Neither wanting to put on a pair of leggings or tracksuit bottoms through fear of being seen as a wimp. Running on a cold day is already hard enough, let’s not make it any harder.

Anyway, from my own runs down the Thames in near Arctic conditions this week I have learned that I can do it. I can run when it’s cold and so I’m feeling more confident about training this winter. Just as long as it doesn’t rain.