IT’S been a great week. My ankle is now in tip-top condition and I’m back on the circuit.

We’re both working with Birchfield Harriers – Jess out with the running troops and me with UK coach Dave Newnham.

Whilst I’m not clocking up the miles, I’m out on the running track undergoing some pretty intense training and rather surprisingly, for an individual who once regarded a stroll as strenuous, I love it.

Dave says I run well, with a relaxed gait. A revelation that makes me proud but at the same time unearths school memories of being told by games teacher “Woolly” Wilbert that I ran “like a spectator who’d wandered onto the pitch looking for her powder-puff”. I’d like to say her jibe made me turn my back on sport and pursue a glittering career in academia but make-up and boys proved a better distraction and the rest, as they say is history.

So here we are, 40 years later proving old “Woolly” wrong with just 27 miles to run.

Dave scrutinizes every part of my running ability with no let up. He’s teaching me how to change gear when the going gets tough.

Last Thursday his fellow coach Pam Rayment ran alongside me which helped enormously. They’re both committed to helping us in the final stage, which is good news because I was starting to panic and these sessions are doing wonders for my confidence.

Which now means after a three-week lapse I’m back running with Jess.

This morning we did several miles in the rain passing the misery discussing our marathon outfits. We’ve decided on electric blue (so this year...) with pocket space for the odd lucky trinket, and a powder puff of course.

How you can help

* For Llewela and her daughter Jess, running the London Marathon in aid of Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice carries a special meaning. Llewela’s husband and Jess’s stepfather Martin Jenkins came under the hospice’s care after he was diagnosed with inoperable throat cancer in 2003, aged just 53. The lifeline extended to the family by the charity ensured Martin enjoyed the best possible quality of life for what time remained, and Llewela and the children had all the support they needed for as long as they wanted.

* Readers can help by donating online at: www.justgiving.com/llewelabailey. Alternatively they can call 0121 472 1191.