C25K-- how did you deal with pain?

yogagirl1111

THanks!

When I started running I was 25, 60 lbs over the top end of my recommended weight range, and a smoker. It's hard, but it should NEVER really "hurt." Yes, uncomfortable and sometimes borderline unbearable... but nothing should physically hurt. You might just need to ramp your body up to prepare for this new adventure!

There are three things that helped me:

1.) Foam roller ($10-20 at any sporting goods place) - Great for self-massage and quick recovery.
2.) An elliptical trainer - Simulates running without the impact. Starting out I did 30 minute sessions 3x/week and did a walk/run 2x/week. It will help shed those extra pounds faster than running alone because chances are you'll keep a faster pace on the elliptical than you can maintain on the pavement.
3.) Squats, lunges, and side lunges to strengthen those legs. You don't need any weights starting out, just using your own body weight is fantastic! I just find after 30 days or so it's helpful to up the ante and add some weight just to challenge the body a bit more. If you are riddled with shin splints, take a seat and spell out the alphabet with your toes bending at the ankle. 3 times through your ABC's on each foot will help strengthen the delicate musculature that support your lower leg.

Start small, get big results. Running does not happen over night. It's not shameful to take a month or two to get to "week one" of C25K especially if you need to really work at it. The fact is that you CAN do this.

andreashawty100

I finished week 2 of day 1 today.. So hard for me. I stopped at some points but I didn't give up I finished it. I'm dreading wedensday

agent99oz

I tried doing C25K almost 3 years ago and got up to week 5, I believe, before I just gave in to the pain and quit (didn't help that my dad laughed at me when I told him I was starting it). Now I can't even walk 40 min without my legs feeling like lead, but I have a goal to be able to run again by next summer, so very very slow progress. And of course now I'm about 20lb heavier than I was last time I tried!

So, how did you work through the pain? I used to run in Jr High/High school and I miss it!

Shoes! Have them checked Where do you run? Outside? On a treadmill etc? Surface can make a big difference if you are new to running. Start small and build from there - so run 1 min, walk 1 min. It normally takes me 18 mins of running to get into a good pace and then from there I am all good.

queengina2010

I started the C25k today && I'm excited for the 5k run!

jgsinfw

Only a couple of people have mentioned it, but ICE (or a bag of frozen peas / edamame / lima beans / corn) is very effective - 3 or even 4 times a day for 15-20 minutes, whether you are running or not on that day, whether you are in pain or not on that day. My heels, ankles, knees and hips all get stiff and sore, and the cold helps a lot, especially on my middle-aged frame.

Ibuprofen can hurt your stomach if overdone, but taking it before or after running can help. Alternate with Tylenol.

Stretching - even on days that you are not running - again, 3 or 4 times a day for 15-20 minutes, can really help.

When you finish running, eat a banana - the potassium can help with muscle aches.

Good shoes that correct your stride problems are a fantastic investment - I got fitted at a local running store and got a pair of Nikes to fix my overpronation that gets compensated for by too much inward force that leads me to supinate and pop my knees. The shoes were about $100, so not a lot more than a good pair of normal shoes - the knowledge of what exactly I am doing when I run was great to know (and to see on the slow-motion video they took of me jogging on their treadmill.)

I started doing C25K by jog / walking back in early October of 2011, and I got less than a mile my first time out. After that, I took 4 days off, I think. Working on the elliptical helped to build my strength as I alternated that with days of running on the track.

By Thanksgiving of last year, I ran a 5k in just under 33 minutes. This morning I ran that distance in just under 26 minutes, and the difference was that this morning, I wasn't really pushing myself and could have gone faster, while last year, I couldn't talk for 10 minutes after finishing.

You can do this - just start slow as others have advised, get good shoes, stretch / ice / medicate muscle pains and ice / moist heat joint pains (alternating).

All the best of luck, and don't give up

iana_cass

Only a couple of people have mentioned it, but ICE (or a bag of frozen peas / edamame / lima beans / corn) is very effective - 3 or even 4 times a day for 15-20 minutes, whether you are running or not on that day, whether you are in pain or not on that day. My heels, ankles, knees and hips all get stiff and sore, and the cold helps a lot, especially on my middle-aged frame.

Ibuprofen can hurt your stomach if overdone, but taking it before or after running can help. Alternate with Tylenol.

Stretching - even on days that you are not running - again, 3 or 4 times a day for 15-20 minutes, can really help.

When you finish running, eat a banana - the potassium can help with muscle aches.

Good shoes that correct your stride problems are a fantastic investment - I got fitted at a local running store and got a pair of Nikes to fix my overpronation that gets compensated for by too much inward force that leads me to supinate and pop my knees. The shoes were about $100, so not a lot more than a good pair of normal shoes - the knowledge of what exactly I am doing when I run was great to know (and to see on the slow-motion video they took of me jogging on their treadmill.)

I started doing C25K by jog / walking back in early October of 2011, and I got less than a mile my first time out. After that, I took 4 days off, I think. Working on the elliptical helped to build my strength as I alternated that with days of running on the track.

By Thanksgiving of last year, I ran a 5k in just under 33 minutes. This morning I ran that distance in just under 26 minutes, and the difference was that this morning, I wasn't really pushing myself and could have gone faster, while last year, I couldn't talk for 10 minutes after finishing.

You can do this - just start slow as others have advised, get good shoes, stretch / ice / medicate muscle pains and ice / moist heat joint pains (alternating).

All the best of luck, and don't give up

Thanks for the wealth of tips!! I can't do new shoes at the moment but I have decided I won't start actually running until I can. Til then, working on the walking!

pittskaa

I'm supposed to start C25K next month.... Idk about the pain, but when I asked almost EVERYONE said how important it is to have good shoes, and to go get fitted for proper running shoes... Maybe that will help?

i used to get bad pain and i bought really nice running shoes and it helped. then i bought athletes insoles and it helped even more!

jus_in_bello

I'm supposed to start C25K next month.... Idk about the pain, but when I asked almost EVERYONE said how important it is to have good shoes, and to go get fitted for proper running shoes... Maybe that will help?

I would think so, though not sure where to go for that? Any sports store have a better reputation than others for doing well in this?

I'd like to also stress the importance of stretching. Shins, calves, etc, I like to stand with my heels on a sidewalk and my toes on the street to stretch my shins and then I turn so my heels are on the street and my toes on the sidewalk for my calves. I also did extra cool down and didn't crash when I got home, I would shower and cook and make sure to stay on my feet a bit longer as I got farther into C25k because I noticed I was getting tight, and that's when it would hurt. Make sure your gait is alright and that you're running correctly.

dadzpeach

I am starting week 5 Tuesday. I do a lot of stretching before and after and sometimes I take ibuprofen for I head out to the track. Maybe it's a mind thing for me but it seems to help. When I'm actually jogging and feel like I'm going to kill over I jog slower. Even if that means I'm only jogging as little faster than I actually walk. To me it's better than giving up completely or just walking. Other people might think I should just quit or walk but I don't really care what others think when I'm working out (or many other times for that matter :laugh: )

I also have actual running shoes so maybe you need better shoes? I'm going to go to a specialty store and get fitted properly once I can afford it but at this point I was lucky that I bought running shoes a long time ago and never wore them. I'm still not sure why.

I am in the middle of week 6 and when I was in high school any time I ran my knee would pop out of place (horribly painful) I'm ok now if I wear a knee brace, but sometimes the tendon in front/beside my knee will pop every time I take a step. So I'm like you, I take a couple ibuprofen before I head out, right around when I eat my snack before hand (anywhere from 30-45 minutes before I go) and I seem to do ok. If I start to hurt then I slow down a bit. It's all about knowing your limits, if you know you are going to hurt something, then slow down, it's not worth it to hurt something serious.

erniewebbiii

I tried doing C25K almost 3 years ago and got up to week 5, I believe, before I just gave in to the pain and quit (didn't help that my dad laughed at me when I told him I was starting it). Now I can't even walk 40 min without my legs feeling like lead, but I have a goal to be able to run again by next summer, so very very slow progress. And of course now I'm about 20lb heavier than I was last time I tried!

So, how did you work through the pain? I used to run in Jr High/High school and I miss it!

As a runner, I'm accustomed to icing my shins, calves and heels. Two things help me quite a bit: 1. The right pair of shoes. Critical. 2. CTR support pills.

mellenorris

Looks like you've made the right call to wait on running until you can treat yourself to some proper shoes! We've got a place called Runner's Roost out here - I love it! They looked at how I run, and recommended shoes to me accordingly. It made a WORLD of a difference!

My running shoes are well spent at this point in time, and I need to wait a bit before I can treat myself to some new ones. I've stopped running until I've got good shoes back on my feet - and I'm sticking to jogging in intervals with strength training, or the elliptical good luck!

nellyett

I started C25k a few weeks ago too and started to get a pain in my hip. I took a couple of days off and did week 3 twice as I didn't feel that I could push any harder until the pain went away.

Well I did my Week 4 Day 1 this morning, and I can't believe that I completed it! It probably looked like I was doing more of a bouncy walk than a run for the 5 minute intervals, but I could care less!! haha

I still have the occasional 'twinge' in my hip, but I listen to my body and back off a bit when I need to.

Laurie061273

I'm not able to run yet, so I walk the whole time. I try to do a fast paced walk and actually succeeded in walking 2 miles in 30 minutes. This is a first for me! A few more times and I will start adding the jogging and see how I feel after that. Had I gone right into the jogging, I would have quit right away because it's so discouraging how far out of shape I am. Now I can walk a mile at lunch and still have something to eat!

asteria82

Someone told me when I started running (July 2011) on this website actually that the first mile SUCKS! Your body fights it, your lungs rebel, etc. Once you run through the "pain" (and I mean in the "my legs feel like lead" way) it is easier. I started last July..never ran a day in my life. (I was always "sick" in school the day we had to run laps...heheh) Now I have run multiple 5k's and two half marathons! It gets easier. Also...on a side note..one thing that was hard for me was that everyone told me that the weight would "Fall off" when you start running but it didn't right away. I was pretty discouraged the first couple of weeks but after week 6, it did start falling. Stick with it and keep tracking your calories! Good luck! (p.s. a REALLY great source of support for me was the C25k facebook page!)

Dan_Lifts

If you are having shin splint issues, here's a pretty thorough discussion of causes/prevention/treatment.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/322021-help-with-your-shin-splints

RBXChas

As for where to buy shoes, I do not recommend major retailers (Athlete's Foot, Foot Locker, Champ's, ****'s Sporting Goods, etc). Reason being, most people who work there don't know enough to fit you properly, and they often do not carry some of the best brands of running shoes.

I know a lot of people are loyal to their Nike/Reebok/Adidas/Asics/Saucony/etc shoes, which is great if that works for you, but it took my going to a specialty shoe store to find out how much better it gets!

I asked around and found out about a couple of small, local stores that would help me find proper shoes and inserts. Yes, they are more expensive than the more recognizable brands, but it's worth it to be comfortable and less likely to injure yourself.

I couldn't decide between Brooks and Newton. The Newtons were pricier, especially because they required additional orthotics, but they last longer than Brooks. I finally decided on the Newtons and ended up ordering them online for much less (runningwarehouse.com) with the needed orthotics.

Proper running socks are also a good piece of equipment that a lot of people don't consider. I like Balega socks because they make me feel like I am running on clouds. My feet stay comfy during my runs and are dry afterwards. They are a little thick and a bit expensive, but they also have a line called Zulu, which is less expensive but just as good, in my opinion. They are made in South Africa, which is kind of neat. Runningwarehouse.com and Amazon carry them, or you can usually get them at the same place you'd get properly fitted for running shoes. I have never been able to find them at the big retailers.

Good luck!

v70t5m

Have you thought about starting barefoot or in minimal shoes?

It works for some.

Training barefoot almost guarantees you won't overdo, because your soles are not up to long distances.

Barefooting enthusiasts say your foot is perfectly able to adapt to terrain much better without shoes than within ... and there is a lot of scientific support for how we change our running style when we dump the shoes (for the better or worse is left to each individual to deide).

Good luck. Listen to your body.