“Thanks for coaching me this year. I’ve got you entry to an obstacle race.”

“Are you doing it too? It would be more fun to race together.”

And that’s how I came to be entered into the Men’s Health Survival of the Fittest. It involves climbing over things and getting into cold, muddy water. In November.

This isn’t really what I had in mind for November. I planned to fill it with DVD boxsets, new pairs of pyjamas and mugs of hot Ribena. But coach and PT, Chris has been more than kind with giving up his time to help me prepare for triathlons this year. He set me swim sets, pushed me to go a bit further in the pool, sent me up Swains Lane (a big hill in North London) five times in a row on my bike and calmed my nerves before races. I could hardly leave him to line up for this race by himself, no matter how much I thought he’d enjoy it.

Although the details of the race fill me with dread, there’s a bit of me that wants to give it a go. It’s the same bit that watched the Channel 4 programme about how the Royal Marines train and thought ‘That looks a little bit like fun.’ Just a little bit though.

I entered us both and thought that would be it. But Chis had other plans. He texted me this week: “Are you doing any prep for this race?”

“Beyond digging out some old kit I don’t mind getting muddy? No, not really.”

My upper body strength doesn’t exactly match that of my legs. I had a vision of me struggling to lift myself over that wall like Demi Moore in GI Jane.

Chris texted back with a plan for me and sent me off to the gym. I should have just bought him a bottle of wine instead.