Why should you make time in your training schedule for cross training?  Time not spent running is wasted time right?  Wrong!  Here's why....

Saturday 31st March, 2012 will be a day I remember for the rest of my life because it's the day that I ran across the finish line in the new Olympic Stadium in Stratford, London ahead of the 2012 Games.

The journey began last Autumn when an e-mail arrived from The National Lottery inviting me to enter a ballot to win one of 5,000 places in a 5 mile run around the Olympic Park, finishing on the track. It said the event would be the first to officially cross the Olympic Finish Line. I clicked the link, filled out the entry and promptly forgot all about it.

In less than a week, I will join 4999 other people for the most exciting running event I may ever have the privilege to take part in - the Olympic Park Run! The 5-mile course takes in the sites of the Olympic Park and culminates in the Athletics Stadium, on the running track, in front of 12,000 spectators. To say I'm excited is the understatement of the year.

I haven't made any New Year's resolutions for several years now - because I never keep them. But this year I feel more motivated to make changes for the better so I thought I'd give it a go. And perhaps sharing my progress will help me stay on track and reach my goals.

So what's so different this year? Well, I have a significant birthday coming up and they tell me "life begins" so it's an added incentive for change. Plus, over the last two years I have managed to address a few minor health issues that used to get in my way (and provide an easy excuse when I couldn't be bothered).