My Favourite Week

This is undoubtedly my favourite week in my running schedule - the one before a Big Run. Sunday sees me attempt a half-marathon for the first time in two years, so the last few days have seen me concentrate on just two things - Tapering and Carb-loading. Or as I like to interpret that, Not Going Running and Eating Chips.
Tapering is actually a fancy name for cutting back on your training programme for a defined period, to avoid putting your body through undue stress and to make sure that it's not drained of resources you're going to need on the big day. 
So, in a nod to that, my last really long training run was last week, when I tried doing 15k before work. I was thinking of doing 20k, but I woke up late and lost half an hour. It was a bit of a shambles, to be honest, very slow and several walk/rest breaks - but it'll have to do. This'll be the first time I've tried to do a half-marathon without having done at least one 20k training run in preparation, so let's hope the old legs can go the distance.
This week, I've run just the once, a gentle 5k just to keep the joints working. Any other time my conscience has tapped me on the metaphorical shoulder and whispered "You know, you really ought to go for a run today", I've just replied very firmly: "No chance, mate. I'm tapering!"
Carb-loading is supposed to be a way of storing glycogen in your muscles. The science suggests you should be doing it 2-3 days before a long race, not a whole week before. Also, chips is not on any nutritionist's recommended menu for endurance athletes that I can find. This is unfair and chipophobic. There are carbs in chips. Lots of them. Anyway, carb-loading is also a good excuse to eat mounds of pasta, so I will be doing that as well.
As to the race itself, it's the fancily-titled Thames Half Marathon which advertises itself as a "flat, fast and scenic" run, largely along the Thames towpath between Walton and Hampton 

 Court - presumably the scenic bit doesn't include the sewage plant at the 6/11 mile stage, but let's not be picky.
I had sort of forgotten exactly how far 13 and a bit miles is until I looked at the course on the map, and am currently feeling a bit daunted. Can I do it in a decent time? I'm really not sure. The other day, when I'd done 10 miles in an hour and a half, I was feeling quite cocky about it. This week, not so much. Under two hours is my nominal target. Just finishing is perhaps a more realistic one.
We'll find out on Sunday. For the moment, I've got some more tapering and carb-loading to get on with.