Runners

sayray16

Hello! I am new to running and I am beginning to experience some pain in my left knee. I wanted to see how other runners have dealt with this. I went form lazy status to running a 5K every day. I am at the end of my third week and I am wondering is this because I need to change up my routine? I give myself one rest day out of the week, but that is all. Also, I wanted to know, how does everyone get the best out of their workout? What do you all do to burn the most calories? I am not losing weight as fast as I thought I would. I'm at about a pound per week but this week I gained a pound back. I know it's because I am gaining lots of muscle, but it would still be nice to know if I am doing this the right way. Any advice?

JesterMFP

To be clear: you went from not running at all to running 5k every day? That's going way too fast, and you'll definitely be risking injuring yourself. You need to build up gradually. I would recommend doing a structured programme. The C25k is a popular one, for example. 3 days a week is probably better to start with, and you could do some other form of exercise in between (cross training). Do some resistance training would help a lot too, to prevent injury and preserve your muscle mass. You won't be "gaining lots of muscle" from running, especially if you're not strength training, and not eating a surplus of calories. You'll have gained weight because your muscles retain water as they repair themselves. Seriously, slow down. Running is very hard on the body and you need to build up slowly.

sayray16

Thank you for your advice. I have been strength training as well. Maybe I should have mentioned that. But I really went from walking the 5K, to jogging it, to running it. This is where I am at now. I have basically worked my way up to running it. Do you think the distance is still too much on a newbie?

LearnFromTheRed

I also think you're doing too much, too fast, but will also trot out the age-old line, "Have you been fitted properly for running shoes?"...

jtm4210

I started running again in January (after a 2 year gap) and thought that I'd be fine to run every day as my general fitness was ok and I used to run loads. Cue achey knees, back and pretty much everything else after just a few days, so I cut down to 3 times a week and didn't pay any mind to distances - just times. The first week I aimed for 20 minutes per run, then 25 in week 2 etc etc. Once I could run 30 minutes comfortably (around week 4) I started measuring distances and doing interval training as well, which has been really helpful to improve stamina. It really does work - after starting out as a puffing aching wreck I very comfortably did my first 10k a few weeks ago.

I'm no expert but from my own experience I'd say it's best to start slow and get into an achievable but incrementally challenging routine. And rest days are soooo important!

Good luck!

sayray16

Thank you guys very much for you replies. I do have very nice running shoes. They are the Ghost 6 by Brooks Running. My feet never hurt in them. I use to hike in target shoes and I would get foot cramps all of the time. So I know my shoes are ok. I guess I will have to rethink this. I was worried that I was going at this all wrong. The reason why I am paying attention to distance is because I wanted to get use to running the 5K and practice bringing my time down. I am truing for m first 5K in November. However, all of your advice is very much appreciated and I think I will have to steady myself. I'll try doing this how jtm4210 suggested. Thanks a lot everyone!

KyleB65

The pain is almost certainly due to over training. 5k/day every day with other training is too much. You need at least one rest day per week to allow your body the chance to heal.
If you are interested in running? Look for an app like C25K (mentioned above) or better yet, find a local running group and join up. Most groups have learn to run programs and follow up programs to move you up the distances. There are also some great books on running.
For now, given that you are also weight/resistance training, I suggest running 3x per week.
And, look on line for stretching for yoga, runnersworld.com has some great videos.
Lastly, go to a specialty sports store and get fitted for decent running shoes. if you are going to run more than 20k per week, you need to have shoes that fit your running style and feet properly. Most decent stores will have at least one person who can quickly evaluate your posture and running style to offer shoes that will help you run injury free.

lisaabenjamin

I learned the hard way that your body needs rest!! I'm not a new runner, but I'd had some time out from it, then started this silly challenge to do 5km every day for 50 days. In the challenge, you don't *have* to run every day, you're just supposed to do 5km or an equivalent amount of exercise every day, but silly me got it into my head that I could run every day. After 5km is nothing, right?

I did great for 4 weeks and was really enjoying the improvement in my fitness, my pace etc. Around Day 30 of the challenge I started getting really tired legs...I even posted a topic on MFP asking for advice thinking maybe I just needed to drink a protein shake or something to help recover. I was pretty annoyed when all the responses I got were basically telling me to quit the challenge and rest!!

But stubborn ol' me kept going...Anyway to cut a long story short I am now in sports therapy. Fortunately I don't have a stress fracture as I'd feared, but I do have some pretty messed up muscles, andthis was probably aggravated by an old knee injury from like 8 years ago which i hadn't evn thought about. My leg was strapped up in K-tape for a week, and I've been ordered not to run or do any activity that aggravtes the pain until it's completely healed (no no netball training or me eithe :-( ) I'm now having regular friction massages to help my inflamed muscles and eliminate the lactate build up in legs - let me tell you not all massages are relaxing - these flippin hurt!!

I'm almost back to fitness again and have been cross training rather than running but the experience has definitely been an eye opener! I thought I could handle it, but actually I was pretty naive about how your body handles physical stress and workout recovery.

My advice is, if you get any kind of pain while working out, stop and rest (or at the very least do a different form of exercise that doesn't put stress on the hurty bits). Also, as someone said, make sure you get fitted for the right shoes if you haven't already done so.

lisaabenjamin

Thank you guys very much for you replies. I do have very nice running shoes. They are the Ghost 6 by Brooks Running. My feet never hurt in them. I use to hike in target shoes and I would get foot cramps all of the time. So I know my shoes are ok. I guess I will have to rethink this. I was worried that I was going at this all wrong. The reason why I am paying attention to distance is because I wanted to get use to running the 5K and practice bringing my time down. I am truing for m first 5K in November. However, all of your advice is very much appreciated and I think I will have to steady myself. I'll try doing this how jtm4210 suggested. Thanks a lot everyone!

You don't specifically say in your post...but did you get properly fitted for these shoes? Like, did you go to a running store and have them watch you run to assess your gait? They might be "nice" shoes and they may be Brooks running shoes, and your FEET may not hurt, but if they are not right for you then they may still be contributing to your knee pain.
Edited to clarify: the way your feet strike the ground affects the position of your whole leg and hips so it's possible your knees are turning etc. But if you got properly fitted then heed this advice or not as you see fit. :-)

LearnFromTheRed

They might be "nice" shoes and they may be Brooks running shoes, and your FEET may not hurt, but if they are not right for you then they may still be contributing to your knee pain.

Just beat me to it there :-)

My feet have never hurt in any shoes, but my left knee and hip flexors certainly have...

derrickyoung

I am new to running to and will agree that 5/k a day is to much out when just starting out. The fact your cardio system can manage that is great and incredible but joints, tendons, ligaments and Muscles need time to adjust as well. Also if your feeling the knee pain a day after your rest day then I would lay off for a few days. Pushing through it may end up causing a longer term injury that will end up laying you out for longer. I did the same thing and started to get some problems in my foot tendons. I was not doing near 5k a day and the people over at runners world gave me the same advice. Cut back my distance and build at a rate of 10% per week. My foot has been fine since.

Yes the Ghost is a good shoe but is it the right shoe? You really need to have your gate looked at by a running specialist. When shopping for shoes I tried on plenty of really good running specific shoes but the type of support they provided were wrong for my needs. Do you need a Neutral, Stability or Motion Control shoe? The Ghost is classified as Neutral and if you need something higher up the support range this will cause misalignment in your ankles, knees and hips leading to pain in one or all areas.

All of that said I must say great job and commitment so far. I found/find running hard at first, it hurts when you go from nothing to running. So sticking with it to get over that hump is hard. I am still climbing the hill to get over the hump but feel great everyday I do my run.

EDIT TO ADD
agree with a structured program as well. My push to rush things is what caused my foot problems. A program that increases things in a structured format will keep you on track. Aside from the C25K programs I found the programs from Runners World great and really helped me. I bought a copy of the The Big Book of Running for Beginners and found the information invaluable. Everything from getting started, Eating and Cross Training is covered

ayalowich

Forgetting the other advice on here, which is probably spot on, you should be icing your knees and legs for about 10-15 minutes after your runs. You may be doing that already, but if not it is worth mentioning.

Before your runs, do some straight leg lifts working up to 1-2 minutes on each leg. Those really have worked for me over the years whenever I get knee stiffness.

12bfree

When my weight soared to 232 lbs, my right knee would be in a fair amount of pain after a two-mile run. I incorporated squats, lunges and a resistance band stretch to help support my knee. It might help you as well. I’m currently at 3 miles daily at a pace of 8:48 per mile. The pain has subsided although I still experience some soreness occasionally. Of course, I’m sure dropping over 30 lbs has helped as well. Good luck and keep running!