2010 Progress Entrant - Ewan Mackenzie

Contents:- -Intro- Report -1- -2- -3- -4- -5- -(Look back 1)- -6- -7- -8- -9- -(Look back 2)- -10- -11- -12- -13- -14- -15- -16- -17- -Final-

Report 9 extra (look back) - Week ending 14/03/10

A look back, the Story so far.....

Nine weeks since I started running and it has pretty much changed my life. In the last month I have more or less followed a pattern of 3 runs a week with some gym work or a game of squash on the days I don't run.

I normally run around 4 miles twice during the week and with my wife Sandra (The Taskmaster) we do a longer run at the weekend. Two weekends ago on a lovely Sunday morning we ran from home up to Harspdale, round the loop there and back home with the total mileage being 8.5. I still have to pinch myself and find it hard to believe that I could manage to run 8.5 miles and enjoy it!

A couple of weeks ago I joined the North Highland Harriers a local running group, yes a running group, who would have believed that 9 weeks ago when I set off on my running challenge - certainly not me but its great and I am really enjoying it. When I told my mates at the golf club I had joined the Harriers one of them asked was that a bird watching club? I have been the last two Tuesday nights where Sophie the coach sets the sessions and at the moment we are doing routines that should help us increase our pace when running. I was very apprehensive about joining the club but everyone makes you feel very welcome and I would encourage anyone irregardless of their ability to come along.

Last Saturday along with some other Harriers we did the Mey 10k course, this was a wake up call for me as I found it a very difficult course and considering you start and finish from the same point we seemed to spend a lot more time running uphill than downhill. I managed to complete the course but my time was a long way from what I am aiming for on May 16th. After finishing at Mey I was advised by some of the more experienced runners that I should sit in a cold bath this would have a better result on my sore legs rather than a hot bath, well I have to confess the ice cold bath worked to a treat on my legs but other parts of my body more or less disappeared and seem very unwilling to return quickly!

I have had a bit of a sore knee recently but got it checked out by Kiwi Mike the Physio and all seems fine although I have been advised not to over do it for a couple of weeks, along with that Sandra has had a cortisone injection in her troubled heel so I will have to run on my own until she recovers. My overall fitness is continuing to come on leaps and bounds and I have nearly lost 2 stone in weight.

In the next month I intend to continue pretty much with the same training pattern and hopefully my pace will continue to increase as well as my ability to cope with the hills and the Caithness winds.