Pedestrian Power

You see things differently when you're on foot.

As a person who rarely ever walks or runs anywhere, I've not been subjected to the perils faced by everyday pedestrians.

But, during one of my 10k training runs this week, I had my first brush with a vehicle and I'm happy to say that I emerged victorious.

Now, don't get me wrong, I hardly went head-to-head with a ten-tonne truck; my challenge came in the shape of a matchbox-like Fiat Cinquecento - which, in all honesty, I probably weighed more than.

There I was, jogging along happily to the angelic sounds of Mariah Carey, when I spotted my nemesis reversing up a driveway just a short distance away. "It's my right of way," I told myself. "The pathway runs across the driveway, he has to stop for me."

I pictured a scene from that awful '90s TV show, Gladiators. This was my Eliminator - a test of speed, skill and endurance. I switched tracks on my Ipod to Survivor's 'Eye of the tiger' and prepared for the task in hand.

I put my foot down and made for the finish line. As I got to the edge of the driveway the Fiat slammed on the brakes and admitted defeat. The smell of victory was a sweet one.

OK, so maybe I'm being a bit dramatic. If you had witnessed this event, it would have looked much like slow motion.

But you do see things differently when you get out of the car. That's one thing I have learned in my first week of training.

And as for the training itself? Well, I'd always considered myself to be relatively fit, but 10k is a long, long way.

I'm up to about four miles, which is probably double what I run in 90 minutes of football on a Saturday afternoon.

I do, however, need to address one problem; my Ipod earplugs keep falling out when I run...