Week 36: 8 – 14 Sept

Run: 6hrs 49min (50.4mi) / Gym: 10mins / Crosstrain: 45mins

Fifty miles banked this week — not bad going considering the chaos orbiting around me. Monday kicked off with the usual loop, a steady cruise at eight-minute miles; just enough to wake the legs without waking any ambition. An easy 5.5-miler that evening kept the system ticking over ahead of Tuesday’s let’s-see-what’s-left-in-the-tank session — five 1K repeats, aiming to flirt with the 3:45 mark. Three of them obliged, the others reminded me I’m mortal. I’ve also taken up Tai Chi, apparently in search of “balance,” though at this point I’ll settle for ten minutes without my phone buzzing. The evening 10-miler — audiobook on, mind elsewhere — has become a sort of meditation, Ross Edgley rambling in my ear while I pretend the North East drizzle is sea spray. Wednesday’s turbo session was a test of patience more than fitness; 45 minutes staring at a wall, wondering why I don’t just ride outside like a normal person. Thursday brought the weekly tempo suffer-fest, extended from three to four miles — because why not make it worse? Averaged about 6:35 pace, which was decent enough to justify a grin and an extra coffee. Friday offered the Fenham loop — shorter, hillier, a bit of variety before the usual evening 10K, run increasingly in darkness that makes the local estate feel like a low-budget thriller. The weekend was a write-off, though for noble cause: my eldest turned eighteen. We hosted the party in the front garden under a tent, and while the neighbours may never forgive me, my legs probably will. Balance, of sorts.