The longest road (the A40 to Eynsham)

I'm in Eynsham this morning for my first 10k run - at least my first one outside and with other people.  Eynsham Road Runners describe it as a '10k Road Race', and the fact that there's a £100 prize for the first person to finish in under 30 minutes suggests that other people see it as a race too. I see it more as another milestone (10k-stone?) in my ongoing efforts to work up to an Olympic distance Triathlon.

It's a cold but calm looking day, and the sun is just poking through some wintery clouds. Looks like it should be a good morning for it.

I've had my porridge, got my kit ready, studied the route and I think I'm ready to go.  I'm very nervous. Normally when I'm competing I know I have a good chance to outperform other people on the swim and bike but today I know I'm competing against serious runners.  I understand that I have no chance to really compete, and honestly I'll be happy with just finishing (although 55 minutes would be a dream!).  But at the same time I want to feel I'm doing my best, so not having a swim or bike to fall back on is a bit worrying.  I don't want to come last!

Sophie tells me I always feel a bit wonky on race days and she's probably right, but I still feel like this is time it's worse than normal. 

Ah well, at least it'll be over in an hour.