Should I be ashamed of my fitness kit envy – or simply embrace it and buy my own? The thing is the items that I’m currently lusting after were in fact bought by myself, except that I then handed them over to the G-Force as his Christmas pressies. (I’m generous like that!)

At the time of choosing the items I knew I’d feel a tad jealous but then I had a shot of the La Sportiva off-road shoes and the Garmin GPS 310XT and my envy has reached much higher on the green scale.

Nipping out for a run at the weekend with the G-Force’s new Garmin GPS revealed just how addictive these gadgets can become. It was set up to record the G-Force’s calorie burn etc (that is, he’d logged in his weight and not mine) but I could still keep an accurate track of my running pace and heart rate. At the end of the run I was surprised to see that I’d run 6.3 miles. I imagined I’d trotted out about four miles!

It wasn’t only me who suddenly became interested in the finer details of my run. The G-Force checked back through my data, announcing my average pace per mile run, the exact route and telling me how many calories I would have burned if I weighed as much as him! That would have been useful, except he weighs at least 2 stones more than me!

I suddenly realised that if I want to keep some of my training stats to myself then I’ll need to buy my own Garmin.

The Garmin 310XT is lightweight, even on my skinny arm, and has a very clear display so that you can see what it’s telling you as you run along. When it’s dark, a handy button helps to light up the screen. Having something to distract your attention while you’re running is also a bonus if, like me, you often run the same old boring routes! Now I can challenge myself to run my old routes faster each time!

I’ve wondered for years why so many of my running friends religiously wear their Garmin GPS and now I can totally understand the fascination. It’s addictive and I really wish I had enough money to buy my own.

But what about the La Sportiva Crosslite off-road running shoes? If you’ve been reading my blog then you’ll know that my favourite off-road footwear is Inov-8. I have a numerous pairs of these brilliant off-road trainers, including trail and mountain running models. I tried to get the G-Force to like his Inov-8s but for some reason he finds them uncomfortable around the ankle.

So, as a Christmas treat, I decided to try another manufacturer for him. Buying trainers for someone else isn’t easy but the G-Force has the same size feet as me so it wasn’t as difficult as it would be for most couples. I took a chance that the ankle area would be more suited to his, well, ankle area.

On Christmas Day he was delighted with my choice. The minute he put his feet into the La Sportiva trainers he knew they were the ones for him. That’s what he told me anyway. They seemed to fit like slippers. Having tried the shoes in Achilles Heel I already knew they felt good. But then I took them out for a wee run in the snow this weekend and for the first time I think I may have found a rival to the Inov-8s. The shoes are lightweight and grippy (even on ice) and offer a nice narrow fit. I like the waterproof over shoe and I think these trainers look a lot more attractive than many other off-road shoes. Not that looks should matter but sometimes it can swing a purchase – or not!

I’m going to resist buying a pair until my Inov-8s wear out (and that could be some time in the next decade since I have so many pairs) but if the G-Force is looking for an idea for a birthday gift then I’d been more than happy to accept a pair of these La Sportivas.

In the meantime, I may well sneak out in his La Sportivas when he’s not looking. I don’t think the Garmin GPS can tell which trainers you have on when you’re running can it?!