Weekends are usually devoted to racing or long runs, recovering on the sofa and trying to see friends. During No-run-vember there has been no running on the weekends for the past four weeks as my legs recovered from the last marathon and prepare for training for the next to begin.

But that doesn’t mean they’ve been lazy weekends spent on the sofa – quite the opposite in fact. I’ve been doing lots of miles on the bike and cramming in all the things I’ll have to forego once marathon training starts again.

This weekend was The Running Show a free exhibition for runners with lots of the latest kit on display and expert speakers giving talks and answering questions. So I headed out in the rain by bike and train to Sandown to have a look, pick up some fancy socks and say hello to the guys from Find a Race who got me to ‘Step Up’ and pledge my goal for my next race.

After all the cycling around in the rain, I’d built up quite an appetite – the sort that can only be satisfied by a curry and a pint.

Sunday mornings are pretty quiet down at the local pool, so I headed down and, with the fast lane all to myself (possibly because I wasn’t going so ‘fast’) I did my 750m to work up an appetite for breakfast. Then it was a quick change into my kit for cycling.

Canterbury, the people better known for making rugby kit and sponsoring the England rugby team, have recently ventured into running kit. Their women’s base layer top has been keeping me toasty as I cycle around in the winter weather (I pretty much haven’t taken it off) while their compression leggings have helped keep my dodgy right leg in check (and they look much nicer on than Instagram does justice).

Back on my trusty stead, it was time for a sunny 5-mile cycle to Greenwich through the Greenwich foot tunnel. My destination was the Meantime Brewery for an afternoon of beer tasting and a tour of the brewery. After a couple of pints of rather strong beer and an entertaining tour from Alex, there was a rather longer 13-mile cycle for the return leg to North London.

That’s the end of my No-run-vember odyssey. Normal training will resume this week. It’s been good to have a break from running and to focus on other things, but now I’m very much ready to get my running shoes back on. And that’s what it’s all about – making yourself ready in body and mind to get going again fully recovered and eager for new challenges. Also: drinking beer.