"Calfman" Duathlon tomorrow - and so much could go wrong

Tomorrow, I compete in my second ever duathlon. For those who don't know the word, a duathlon involves running, cycling, then running. So at 11am tomorrow I have to run 5km, cycle 30km, then run another 5km around Showa Kinen park in west Tokyo.

The problem is, right now it's snowing. A bit of snow doesn't matter much when you're running, but for cyclists it's deadly. Worse still is the possibility of ice.

Also, I did a bit of hard training last week and it has made my ITB knee pain flare up again.

That's the bits that were out of my control, but it gets worse...

...I've decided to use a pair of super-fast tyres, which means if rain leaves the roads slippery and gritty I have a greater chance of puncturing them or sliding on a corner.

On top of that I've gone and done perhaps the silliest thing ever - bought new cycling shoes for the race, which I haven't had a chance to try out.

So if tomorrow doesn't end in disaster and I manage to finish in one piece, skin and knee intact, I'll be happy.