Remember the film White Men Can't Jump? Well, the same applies to fat girls too, I found out this week.

We'd been warned by Sam and the BodyFit team to make sure we brought our PMA to Monday's session.

Oh dear. I last saw my positive mental attitude on the number 46 Harrington bus about five years ago. It waved cheerily as it left me.

Typical, I thought. I am, without doubt, a glass half empty kind of girl.

But still, despite having a rubbish few sessions and not being on top of the running game, I thought I'd better show some willing.

As I arrived at the Lakes Home Centre car park, Jo was lining up cones in an odd diagonal fashion, next to each other.

Oh no, I thought, what fresh hell is this?

After a brief warm-up, we were let in on the secret. Sam wanted us to face the Lakes Home Centre and jump forwards and then sideways, still facing the building, clearing the cones, run round and do it again, until she said stop.

Sam said it would be difficult and we had to reach in the depths of ourselves and find our PMA.

I'm sure she threw me a steely look at this point. I knew my earlier sarcastic Facebook comment was a mistake.

So we did. Or at least tried to. My body rebelled and I couldn't get both my feet to lift off the floor at the same time or if I did, managed to twist myself round and face in the opposite direction.

With roars of "Face the Lakes Home Centre" from Sam, a good gaggle of us started to giggle.

It was fun in a frustrating kind of way. At one point there was a queue behind me.

Then it was on to the run. Sam warned us again it was going to be difficult to make us use the old PMA as much as we could.

I don't mind this type of motivational talk, but if she has us high fiving, I'm joining some other running club.

I'm sure there's one that would have me. Absolutely positive. 

We ran to the base of Sullart Street. The last time I was there, I fell over so I wasn't too impressed.

Saying that, there's not many places in Cockermouth that I haven't fallen over at now.

So all my PMA was focused on staying upright - as was Jane's, who said in a loud stage whisper "don't fall over, Nicole".

We had to run all the way to the cut, run up the cut, turn onto Fitz Road, give it a lot of welly until the first person gets to the lamppost, turn back to Sam, who was waiting at the end of Fitz Road and jog back to Jo at the bottom to start again.

I knew I wasn't going to make it all the way.

Positive mental attitude or not, it was too much of a hill to climb (mentally and physically).

So I set myself targets - three-quarters of the way up Sullart Street, to the edge of the cut, halfway up the cut.

I thought if questioned, I could tell Sam it was my effort at being more positive.

Well reader, I nailed them all. I was on fire. Or slightly warm. I even overtook someone.

But it was on the way back that I overly impressed myself.

The faster runners were sent off first and told to do an "out and back" down Derwent Street.

I was just tootling along, but I was quite near Paul, who is fairly fast. He denies this but it's true.

We got to Derwent Street and I was just going to go to the car park when Paul shouted "down here" and I found myself doing the "out and back".

I almost got to the end of Derwent Street.

Paul looked at me, mid-run, and said "You've got faster", which made me really happy.

We've disagreed since about who was ahead of whom. He says I was faster and I believe it was the other way round.

I've never done a proper out and back before so it was very exciting. I know it sounds mental but it was the best running session I've had for a long time.

Shame of it is, I put my back out the next day. I'm blaming the jumping. See? Fat girls don't bounce.