'Couch To 5k' Problems

pinkobsession

I've been doing the couch to 5k program for about 3 weeks now. I am on Week 2, Day 2 but I having alot of trouble with it. Since I started the program I have had a lot of pain in my hips and right calf and knee joint. I push myself and feel a lot of motivation before I hit the treadmill for the workout. As it has increased in difficulty I seem to be having much more pain in these areas.

Today at the gym I wanted to try a few different things thinking I wasn't warmed up enough to do it, I did a 5 minute warm up walk and then some light stretching, then I started the run with only about 2 minute treadmill warm up, still at an incredible amount of discomfort. I only last 10-11 minutes and this is about the same time I've been quitting where I was afraid to push, anywhere from 10-20 minutes in lately.

Should I keep pushing, is it normal to have this pain?
I'm not a runner by any means but when I used to work out before this session I never had these pains. I was about 30 lbs lighter, but its still frustrating me! I just want to push and do this!

Thanks in advance for the help here.

Pebble321

If it is really painful then it would be worth getting checked out by a physio or doctor. They will be able to help identify why you at getting pain and how to help it.
My general advice is to slow down, don't push to go fast, work on getting the distance there first ,the speed can come later.

srp2011

No, that kind of pain is not normal - you should get checked out by an exercise doc. It could also be related to your shoes (did you get fitted at a running store for shoes that correct for the way your foot strikes the ground?), or your running form (it's best to strike mid-foot or with the ball of the foot - heel striking can cause problems with the knees and hips because of the impact).

Kellymac88

Hey! Im on week 3 day 2 and I started experiencing similar sounding pains. I also had a lot of trouble with my ankle hurting as well as my knee (which is a replacement, so understandable). I worked with my trainer for a while on this and I fixed it by doing a couple of things.
First I went to an actual running store and had them fit me for shoes. I figured that I am making it a lifestyle change so its worth the chunk of cash for good shoes- that got rid of my hip pain.
second, I started doing my five minute warm-up at a little slower pace, but with an incline of 3 because i found that it helped stretch out my calves ankles and quads before actually having to run.
Last, I had to force myself to try to stop being so "bouncy" when I run. It is a conscious thought to do it, but as soon as I started practicing it got lots easier. I had my trainer watch me run from behind to see if he could tell whether my stride was weird, then awkwardly enough, I watched some youtube videos about good jogging stride and tried to imitate.

Hope it helps!!