THE DAY BEFORE

Since 15 November: 78 hours 46 minutes, 735.8 kilometers
Weight: 76 kilos

Tomorrow's 20 kilometers of Brussels is what started it all. Well, not exactly tomorrow's... More the same race in 2004. It was the first time I took part in this mega-event and signalled the start of what has become a running addiction.

In the first two races I finished in 2h25. Last year, with more training, I did it in 2h12. This year I'm aiming at a time under two hours, say 1h55. That'd be major major progress, but then I'm fitter than I've been at any time in the past 20 years.

Predictions are for temperatures way below 20 degrees C. That's very good. But they also predict rain. And the prospect of standing in the crowd of 28,000 runners for half an hour waiting for the race to start, is hardly appealing if it comes with rain.

We shall see. Tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Amine has suggested he will join my training for the marathon. First time I ran with him was in Cambodia, where we went through (and sometimes over) the Angkor Wat temple complex, early in the morning. A bit surreal, but very pleasant. Amine is considerably faster than I am, so maybe training with him will help my speed develop further.