I was one of the many millions of people who stayed up to watch the game which resulted in me sleeping in for my job on Tuesday morning.

However, my excuse for being late seemed surprisingly well received and certainly beat the old "traffic was at a standstill because of a burst water pipe ... oh, those pesky kids" stories that I tend to pull out of the bag from time to time when I'm really desperate.

Only time will tell what effect this summer will have on future generations but one thing's for sure: it has definitely inspired me to get fit and healthy or at least give it a good try.

That's why I've taken up the 5x50 challenge which kicked off on Sunday and will last for 50 days, ending on October 28.

The challenge is simple: you must complete five kilometres every day by running, walking, jogging or cycling. Now I'm going to be totally honest with you: the challenge has been going for five days and so far I've only completed 17km of the 25km I'm supposed to have done by now.

However, I aim to walk 10km with friends between this evening and Sunday to make up for my bad behaviour.

And I've actually drawn up a walking timetable which is stuck to my kitchen wall for next week to make sure I don't fall behind and let the side down.

I've also bought myself a pedometer to keep track of my distance achieved along with some new sports clothes and earphones to listen to some high-energy music to keep me going.

I'm thinking of the major health benefits and the weight loss that will hopefully come with this challenge and, who knows, I might even get used to this walking malarky and continue with it after the 50 days are up.

Stephen Fry, left, lost a tremendous amount of weight, apparently mostly because he stopped getting cabs everywhere and simply walked.

Whatever the outcome of this challenge, I know that, after watching our awe-inspiring athletes all summer long, I for one really and truly want to introduce exercise and all-round wellbeing into my life.

At 32, I'm not getting any younger and, who knows, if I work really hard perhaps I could try out for the Commonwealth Games when they come to our fair city of Glasgow in 2014! Okay, I've just taken that too far, haven't I?

Full details of the 5x50 challenge can be found at www.5x50.co.uk.

And finally, congratulations to Stephen Muir and the gang at the Barra Chippy Bus for organising the first, hopefully annual, Man vs Chilli Contest. Entrants had to eat three cups of what was described as pure fire and the last man standing was crowned the winner and promptly thrown into a bath of ice-cold water. This year's chilli champ Iain Mickety is apparently still recovering.