Runners please advise me!

drgndancer

Breaking-in shoes - My road shoes initially caused a little hot spot behind the ball of my foot - they dont now. My off road shoes initially rubbed a little on the side of my ankle - they dont now - maybe it;s me that's changing but that's the kind of breaking in that I am talking about.

In other words, no need to head back to the shop just because they arent 100% the first few times you use them.

A lot of people on this forum are new to running and will get the attendant aches and pains of doing something they are not used to doing. When they ask for advice too many people on here are too quick to point to the shoes as the cause. It might be a possible cause but hey if I started weight lifting yesterday and complained about sore arms today - what would you tell me?

If she said she was sore that'd be one thing. She was having toe pain and shin pain. Both of those indicate specific problems that can be easily traced to fit and type of shoe. She's been doing this for long enough that the shoes shouldn't have needed breaking in, and she's doing a program gentle enough that she shouldn't be over training. Shoes are an obvious first step. Moreover they appear to have helped.

I agree that always jumping to shoes is a mistake, and sore muscles are part of the game; but the symptoms she listed and information she gave indicated shoe problems. At least as a first and easy to perform first step. 40 Years ago when my father went through Basic Training, they wore combat boots to run. Every man of them had shin splints, and some had worse problems. 15 years ago when I went we wore properly fitted running shoes, almost no one had any running injuries. Getting a gait analysis is a quick and relatively inexpensive first step to get started in running. It's good starting advice. The injury that never happened in the first place is better than the injury successfully treated.

OP, glad your toes stopped hurting. I agree with meercat, it's likely that the rest will sort itself in the next week or so. For immediate relief try RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Rest doesn't mean you have to stop completely unless you want to. Just take it easy for a few days and ice and elevate the leg when you're at home in front of the TV or whatever. If it gets any worse or doesn't go away after a bit, you may wish to talk to a doctor.

final10

Where are you running? Treadmill only? I've been having a dull ache in my inner left calf for months. Even took a break from running for a month to see if it would heal and it came back once I started running again. I was googling it, trying to find a reason and came across something that mentioned pains on left side because of running on the road facing traffic which is what I was doing. The next time I ran I noticed how big the slope was in my neighborhood. Starting running on the sidewalks and the pain hasn't gotten worst but still there slightly only while running. I also carry my two year old on my left hip a lot. Anyway I just recently started going to a chiropractor again for this pain because I want to be rid of it completely since I'm starting to train for a half. I think he does some type of acupressure too and really dug into my calf and found a trigger point (hurt so bad!). I make mess what he said completely up but I think he said he said it's my inner calf muscle that runs along/attached to my shin (that probably why sometimes I thought the pain was in my shin but not shin splints). He worked on it and I was sore for 2 days but today I barely noticed pain on my run. Don't know how many sessions I need with him but I hope he found the problem!

Also I spent a lot of time on you tube trying to learn running techniques. I run with a mid foot strike and planning on taking a chi-running workshop.

Sorry so long! Good luck!

Thankyou everyone for your replies and helpful suggestions.

I did as many of you suggested and went to a running shop and had my gait analysed on a treadmill, which was fine apparently. I did get some shoes a size bigger, and this seems to have sorted the toe pain problem. However, I still got pain in my left leg when running on the treadmill earlier in new shoes. :sad:

I'm hoping this will resolve itself, have only been running for 5 weeks after all. Bound to be some aches and pains, just weird that it is only left leg?

maybe I am more dominant on one side than the other? the shop guy did say that my right side seemed stronger and my left was a bit stiff when running.

Anyway, thankyou all again for your help.

final10

Sorry, one more thing. Also i was told my core is weak and my left hip is weaker than my right. I was told i need to work on my core with more planks and bridge poses.

Just wanted to give suggestions that didn't have anything to do with your shoes, although yes I think your shoes are too small.

redredy9

Entrem, are you experiencing the pain on treadmill, outside, or both? I ask because I sometimes experience some pain in my left leg when I run on treadmill but never when outside. I use the same shoes when doing both.

Most likely, in my case, it's a gait issue having to do with treadmill running.

I ran last night on a treadmil for the first time in ages. I also experienced knee pain that I don't usually feel after running outside! I'll have to watch my gait on my next indoor run.

madmickie

Calm your pants dgrndancer - all I'm saying is that people are too quick to blame shoes these days when there is a more obvious cause and many other possibilites.

A biomechanical assessment would only be indicated if the OP continued to present with pain over time. If an assessment is indicated then it should be done by a qualified person to get useful results and may indeed cost some $$. Advice from the same place that is selling you shoes is hardly independent.

Also, please re-read what I have written. I have never suggested that the cause of her problems was that her shoes may just need breaking-in.

Dear OP - keep running!

meerkat70

Mickie the shoes were too small. You probably need to stop banging on about it now - especially in such a patronising tone.

madmickie

@meerkat - I am glad you respect my views to point they disagree with yours.

meerkat70

@meerkat - I am glad you respect my views to point they disagree with yours.

I sense you feel the need to have the last word. It's a failing I share. :-) However, I have no idea what this sentence means.

Peechiwon

Shin splints by any chance? I used to road run every other day, bought new shoes that were obvioulsy not suitable & developed painful shin splints! Was that bad I had to give up running all together. One leg worse than the other!! Not much you can do for shin splints other than rest & ice..once you have them you're pretty much stuck with them. I have since bought new, more suitable shoes & am able to run occasionally if I run on grass track. Good luck

jlbay

The pain on one side may sort itself out with more training - you've been running a very short time. Slow down or shorten your runs for a while and concentrate on your form. There are some excellent videos on form on youtube (just search "good running form").

Are you running on a track or on a road? If so, switch directions on the track or road so that you work both sides evenly. I used to run on a track and overworked one side, but running half my laps clockwise and half counter-clockwise fixed that right up. Road camber can cause you to work your sides unevenly.

Ice and stretch the sore side. Maybe take a few days off and cross train if it is bothering you. If it gets worse or the pain causes you to change your gait - consider seeing a physio who works with runners.

emtrem

Again, thankyou all for your thoughts, will def look up some good running form tips on you tube. Might be just my inexperience/ crappy running style.

For the person who asked, I do run on a treadmill at present, hoping to make it into the big wide world soon.

Am pleased to report bigger shoes have definately done the trick, toes now fine, and left leg not so painful when running. Am sure this can be fixed with time and experience.

Lots of good advice here though, I appreciate it all. It seems I have a lot to learn...

Thankyou all again. xx

WendyTerry420

I think the answer here lies in the fact that you are new to running. People have been buying running shoes for decades without gait analysis so I wouldnt look at that as the solution.

Your shoes should be comfortable, although like any shoes there may be some breaking in required. Most of us have a bias to one side that may explain why you only get pain on one side - who knows. Stick with the plan but dont push through any bad pain and you will likely be ok.

Occam's razor

WendyTerry420

meerkat - I can't help you if you can't see the relevance. I am glad you agree with me otherwise though.

Ah yes. It's me that's too thick to follow the link, obviously. :-D It's a wonder I make it through the day, really.

I don't think I *did* agree with you. But hey, not helping the OP labouring that point.

Well you *did* agree with him on everything other than the sore arms analogy. You must not have read all his comments.

redhousecat

if I were a newbie runner, getting my gait analysed would be FIRST on my list. It's free, so even us lower class folks can afford it. One can learn a lot about gait, form, foot size, etc when consulting a running specialty store.

froeschli

I had some one-sided pain when I started c25k, I switched to a dirt trail instead of a paved one and it seemed to go away. Thing to be aware of is that, old injuries can affect your running, as well as uneven road surface or a lopsided lifestyle. I'd say if you feel discomfort, slow down, stretch, maybe change sides of the road you're on, then go on. There is discomfort and there is pain. Pain is where you should definitely stop.

charelg

When I run it always seems to burn my legs, trying to get over that part...new runner here!

timboom1

When I run it always seems to burn my legs, trying to get over that part...new runner here!

Try slowing down some. If you are getting that "burning" feeling while running you are probably at or over your lactate threshold. Although there is some training that will put you at that point, it is not something you would worry about as a newbie, your pace should be relatively easy. Doesn't mean you won't have some soreness after a run, but you shouldn't have the burn during a run.