I knew going into this week that it would be tough to do much running. The whole weekend, including Friday, was a pretty boozy stag party up in Newcastle and, while I had a great time, there was never going to be much chance of fitting in a decent LSR.

Instead I decided from the start of the week that I’d focus on just doing some mid-distance runs at a decent speed, to get used to running at the pace I need for the marathon, but also to maybe build my speed up a bit for a half marathon I’m doing in a couple of weeks.

Total: 19 miles

Wednesday: 6 miles at 7:20/mile

A short but fast run, bringing the pace up to more like what I’d like to try and run the half marathon at. It felt pretty decent, although definitely a bit of a stretch.

Thursday: 8 miles at 7:42/mile

Increased the distance and decreased the pace slightly, but still going a good bit faster than I need to for the marathon. Lovely run in glorious sunshine and I felt pretty good about things.

Saturday: 5 miles at 8:00/mile

Basically just a leg-stretch following a very heavy night on the Friday as part of the stag do. My only real goal was to get some miles down and blow the cobwebs away, and I guess I achieved that. It was a pretty run alongside the river in Newcastle, although there was a pretty cheeky hill involved as most of the city centre sits a good bit above the riverbank.

So, overall, not the most productive week of running but I was glad to at least just get some miles done and not allow it to be a total write-off.