Update

I think i have missed a couple of weeks here. In part this is because i was suitably chastened to discover that not everyone finds the running chat utterly riveting. Really? For shame!

With the sarcasm button set back to 'off', my absence from this journal has been more about injury (minor, resolved) and motivation fatigue (ongoing, managed). I am at the stage in my training schedule where i can see the light of the oncoming train and i am just about ready to taper and have a bit of a rest. Whether this is connected to my slightly creaking body isnt certain but my calves are again problematic. A niggle meant a couple of runs missed. Unfortunately one of those was my last 20 miler. Not a massive problem in itself but getting towards the sharp end i find myself with no real scope to accommodate that run elsewhere.

Thus i am left with a vague feeling that no matter how fit i am (fitter than i have ever been i feel), a lack of long runs will be my undoing and i am not well enough prepared. Logically there is some merit in this. More miles would mean i was *better* prepared but in reality i should know that my preparation has been excellent. My overall mileage has been good and while the programme has a whole and indeed the entire year, has been patchy, i am in a good place fitness wise.

That was demonstrated at the weekend with another PB. Jedburgh half was in my schedule as my last race effort and the means i would use to finalise my target marathon pace. That meant i needed to hit it hard. On top of the 2 hour drive, the miserable weather and my niggle calf, i just didnt feel particularly up for that. There are some runs that you just dont fancy and i hated just about every step of this race from start till finish. I felt like i was about to detonate from about mile 4 onwards and my HR data confirms that feeling with a higher average heart rate than my hilly 10k PB from a couple of weeks previously!

For all the negativity and despite an annoying headwind on the way back in, i came home below my target and a good 3 and a half minutes below my previous best  with 1:39:27. A fantastic result in the circumstances as it was run off almost no taper.

So, thats it decided, my marathon target is 3:35:00. Online calculaters suggest my shorter race times ought to translate to something south of 3:30:00. These things always overestimate how well normal people can translate times to longer distances so i am playing it safe and going for a slightly slower time with the proviso that if i miraculously get to 18 miles and feel fantastic i can push on a bit.

So i am here now with less than 1 week of proper training before taper. As i sit here and write this i am of the view that i am not recovered properly from Jedburgh so i can see this week being a challenge. Last night had me doing one of those batshit mental interval sessions that seem to pepper this particular schedule. 5*1200m reps @ 5k pace. Failure to operate my Garmin correctly meant i was hitting each rep somewhere between 5 and 10k pace but to be honest i doubt i could have given too much more. The legs are heavy this morning and tonight's 14 mile run seems like a thoroughly stupid idea.

But this is my last chance to get something into my tank before easing back so i intend to push through it. The fatigue i am accumulating will make Sunday an even better marathon simulation. I am running the Southside 6. 16 miles through the streets and parks of Glasgow's southside. Undulating if not actively hilly but well within my normal long run territory. The plan is to run it at or around marathon pace. All going well this will prove to be an enjoyable confidence booster. If things dont go quite so well then i have the excuse of tired legs. Still, fingers crossed for the former...