I finally made it round a 20 mile training route. Five weeks from now (unless there are yet more problems) I will be recovered after running 26.2 miles in the Leicester Marathon. Every other time I have run a marathon I would have run three or four 20 milers by this point. I should be starting my taper in two bloody weeks! It's been a non-stop litany of illness, work commitments, family stresses and obligations and just about everything else. We went to a party last night and I had  to abstain from drinking so that I could make it out this morning.
The good news is that I made it round in one piece, felt pretty good during and was fine afterwards (no puking or crippling aches). I did two gels, one at 1:15 and another at 2:15 and ran with a bladder pack so I had plenty to drink. I am contemplating running the race with the pack. The only reason I can think not do so is that I look stupid. This doesn't sound like a good reason for not doing something beneficial, especially as I will look pretty stupid anyway...