End in sight

Saturday will be the last of my long road runs in preparation for this year's Snowdonia Marathon and any help will be much appreciated on what is planned to be an 18-mile outing, taking in a short loop round Anglezarke reservoir to Sheephouses and then the Bolton 40 lap, a repetition of today's midweek run which I completed in 3hrs 5mins, the best so far in the current series with a average of 10mins 5secs per mile.

Incidently the climb to Hordern Stoop took nearly 15 minutes - so much slower than last Saturday - but the overall pace was faster. I will be at the UTUP on Saturday looking for company. Pace will be of secondary importance as the 'speed work' will not start until Sunday. Can I do speed work and taper at the same time?