It’s some kind of miracle: I’m actually posting about a week of training at the end of that week, rather than a week or two later! Perhaps it’s because it’s been a lighter week, so I actually have the energy to write on a Sunday afternoon. Here it is, then.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday: rest days (although once again, my Wednesday was not restful: I had to travel to Birmingham and back for a work conference).

Tuesday: 3.4 easy miles at lunchtime.

Thursday: Another lunchtime run. 4.2 miles: 1 mile warm up, 1 mile at marathon pace, 1 mile at tempo pace, then a 1.2-mile cool down. I had planned to just do an easy run, but spontaneously threw in the tempo mile. It was in my training plan to do a 1-2 mile tempo run this week, so perhaps I told myself I should get that done rather than talking myself out of it.

Saturday: Long run with heavy legs and a tired mind. I ran 6 slow miles to parkrun, then a slightly quicker (but still slow) parkrun. I did 9.1 miles in total. The weather was strange: it was rainy and there was a cold wind (I wore a short-sleeved top and wished I’d gone for long sleeves), but it was also humid and felt clammy and muggy. Ugh. I am very much ready for crisp, cool autumn days now, please.

I spent Saturday afternoon catching up with Eliud Kipchoge’s sub-2 hour marathon attempt. It was inspiring stuff. I hope to channel Kipchoge next week – his relaxed style and habit of smiling when things feel tough might help. As a tea fanatic, I was also cheered by reading that a large part of his training diet consists of loads of sweet, milky tea.

Sunday (today!): I had a much-desired lie-in, then went for an easy 3.2-mile jog around the block. The weather was even more gross than yesterday: drizzly, grey and windy, but a very stuffy 17 degrees. Yuck. Glad to be on the sofa with a cup of tea (what else?) now.

Total miles for the week: 20 exactly.

One week to go!!!