ONCE upon a mis-spent youth, I was caught, almost literally red-handed, smoking.

It happened at school and I was on the roof with my usual posse of illicit fag hags. A canny, sharp-nosed Belgian nun, whose name may or may not have been Sister Lucia, concealed herself near the skylight through which we gained access to our lofty den and nabbed us as we descended.

By this time, we had of course swallowed gallons of peppermint mouth spray and were merrily chewing mints to mask our breath, so cunning Sister sniffed our hands instead. (They obviously teach more than the rosary at Nun School).

We were in the direst of trouble, or so it seemed, and the rest of the day passed in an anxious, jittery blur until we received our punishment - detention and, thank goodness, no letter home to our parents.

But for those few hours, none of us was any use to anyone. We couldn't eat, take pleasure in anything or concentrate on anything other than the fact that our world was going to hell in a handcart and Sister Lucia was steering the thing.

But that is what stress does to a body, it shuts out everything except our most essential functions. Due to family health problems, I'm a trifle stressed at present and as a result my fitness regime has flown out of the window.

Without wishing to sound overly melodramatic, the fates have conspired and it is a case of having neither the inclination, nor energy and time to do anything other than the bare necessities of daily living. Even my Fit Ball is gathering dust and slowly deflating.

Boris says that a little break from exercise can be no bad thing and I am taking him at his word, although with Race for Life less than a month hence, this might not be the time for slacking.

Also, last weekend, a friend ran the Caernarfon Race for Life in 36 minutes just weeks after giving birth to her fifth child. She has become both my inspiration and goad. It is time to set aside my temporary sloth and get back into training.

Rob Boris' Stone can be contacted on 07760 225598 or in his studio above Cobwebs internet café in St Thomas Street, Weymouth. He can be contacted for a free chat regarding Race for Life and for further details about the services he offers,visit outrageouslyactive.co.uk If you want to sponsor someone but don't know anyone taking part, please feel free to donate via my online sponsor form, which is linked directly to the Cancer Research UK/Race for Life website. You can find it at: raceforlifesponsorme.org/ruthhayes1