Stick a fork in me - I'm ready

Another weekend, another ridiculously long run.
I managed 22 miles on Saturday, in four and a half hours, and amazingly I didn't drop dead at the end.
I had been dreading it but once I got going I was really spurred on by the thought that it would be the last time I had to trundle up Cranbrook Road and down the Portway etc.
For that reason I wanted to put in a really good effort, one last push before the marathon itself.
I had intended to do the same route as last time but I was feeling quite fresh and full of running so added a couple of bits here and there which ended up in me doing 22 miles in total.
I now feel ready to take on the full 26, which even six weeks ago I never thought I would. I couldn't get much more than 14 or 15 miles under my belt and felt I had a mountain to climb.
But actually The Plan that I have been following reasonably closely has worked and I have hopefully entered my peak performance period at just the right time.
There was a moment yesterday when I nearly abandoned the whole thing as the heavens opened after about an hour and the rain was just unbearable, the sort of rain that seems to be coming at you in all directions like one of those posh showers.
Thankfully it cleared because the thought of four hours of that filled me with horror, although I had to accept that it could well be pouring with rain on the day itself so should just suck it up.
Even at three hours into the run I was still feeling strong and ticking along nicely, it was really encouraging and I think my plan to just start off slowly and keep going slowly really paid off. I now really believe that if all I do is keep plodding at a comfortable pace on the day that I will be able to keep going all the way round.
I have to accept that I probably won't finish in five hours though, if I only got to 22 miles in four and a half as there's no way I could do the last four  miles in 30 minutes. I could never do four miles in half an hour, especially after 22. But, what the hell, it's all about finishing, and I should stop being weirdly jealous of Eddie Izzard finishing in five hours as he did have lots of breaks along the way, including 20 mins just before the end.
So, that's it. All that remains is Taunton Half Marathon next weekend just to get me sharpened up and then maybe a bit of swimming and cycling over the next few weeks to keep things ticking over, otherwise the next big run I do will be the London Marathon. Bring it on baby!