THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER

Tomorrow's the big day! I know 10K isn't exactly a marathon or even a half marathon, but it's the farthest I've ever run in my 56 years on planet Earth. So I guess you're wondering what preparation I'm doing for the big event.

Okay, you're not! But just pretend you're interested anyway.

The answer is that I'm doing nothing, as I was advised to make this a light week and save myself for Saturday. No gym, no running, no nothing. Here's the deal as I see it. I've been practising now for around 18 months - watching my diet, doing increasing amounts of exercise and pushing myself regularly to accomplish more.

With a race tomorrow, it's too late to prepare today. I've been building up to this for long enough, running out on the road by myself before most people are even out of their beds, getting sprayed by wayward sprinklers and barked at by mean looking dogs. Now it's over, just time to wait for the action. Too late to prepare now!

There's a life-lesson in there somewhere!