I have been hearing continuous reports of the abundance ofsnow in the Alps so I was a little surprised to arrive in the French Pyreneesto find none. I've been on winter training camps in Font Romeu many times andnever have I seen it so brown this time of year. The downhill pistes have beenkept open with lots of artificial snow but with just grass and woodland inbetween it doesn't look right. What makes it even stranger is that I hear therehave been white flurries spreading across the UK the last few days.

However it is amazing what twenty-four hours of constantsnow can do and now the mountains have been transformed, gleaming white againstbeautiful pure blue skies. The only problem being the coach has decided hewants us to run not x-country ski so I think he might need to get the broom outand start sweeping the running track.

After the final British selection competition last weekendthe results of all three (including two in December) were calculated to makethe first ranking list of the year. These competitions may seem insignificantbut a decent result through out them is essential in order to get a world cupstart at the beginning of the international season. I was delighted to find outthat I have been selected for the first two world cups, not only are they veryimportant they are also in America; the first one in USA followed by the secondone a week later in Brazil. I am certainly looking forward to some sunshine ofthe warmer non-skiing type.

It may not be the southern hemisphere or the Alps but I amspending the next two weeks in the French Pyrenees. No surprises that thisisn't a holiday, but a change of scenery at this time of year will certainlymake a difference to our training. The aim of the camp is to increase aerobicfitness so there will be plenty of swimming and running with the added varietyof cross country skiing, which is made harder by the effect of altitude. Ialways struggle with the concept of cross country skiing, why put in effort toplod uphill when there are chair lifts passing overhead, then when you arriveat the top the long skinny skis are impossible to control enough to get to anydecent downhill speed.

The two weeks away from home will come as a welcome breakfrom the media. This last week I have had an interview of some sort on fiveseparate days, 2012 has certainly arrived and the press are getting excitedalready. By far the most enjoyable of these five also involved a very glamorousphoto shoot. It did involve a quick trip to London but it isn't everyday I getthe chance to pose for Vogue magazine wearing a designer gown with so muchtaffeta I needed assistance to move. It was also a great opportunity to catchup with some Olympic athletes from other sports, as it's only times like thesethat our paths cross.

Sunday saw my presenting debut on BBC West for the Olympicdreams programme. This could only be viewed in the west region so I haveescaped feedback from home, which could be a godsend, but I did force myself towatch it through my fingers. I had such a great time filming it and I wasextremely grateful to my co presenter who was incredible patient with me. Itmay have pushed me out of my comfort zone but fingers crossed it wasn't thelast.

I am often asked about my 'glamorous' life and what exoticcountry I'm off to next, well right now it seems everyone else is abroad whilstI'm the one at home training hard. I don't blame anyone escaping the Januaryblues but I am a little envious of most of the other summer Olympic sports awayon warm weather training camps in the southern hemisphere. However it isn'tjust my athlete friends who have escaped the British climate; my parents arecurrently skiing, my sister is soon to go and a large percentage of my friendshave either been or are about to head out to the slopes.

There was no chance of hiding those extra calories consumedover the festive period this week when the dreaded skin fold callipers (tomeasure body fat) were dusted off. I feared the worse but it was a pleasantsurprise when the results were calculated to show that I have somehow turnedthe excess into more muscle. Now I'm awaiting my blood test results - which I'mfeeling more confident for - as two weeks of wholesome home cooked food shouldhave fulfilled all my nutritional needs.

With both the recent bank holidays falling on weekends I hada healthy break from competing, but not for long. This Sunday saw my secondcross-country race of the year with a trip up to Cardiff to represent the SouthWest for my first time (and hopefully not the last!). I was incredibly honouredto be selected but got a little worried when stood on the start line next toseveral girls in England vests, unsurprisingly they were soon out of my sight.