Couch to 5K training ... is pain normal?

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azkunk
azkunk Posts: 956 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I started a 5K training program through Endomondo. My first workout was yesterday and immediately after my workout my legs were like jello and it hurt to walk down the steps at the gym. The pain is in my quads. I stretched afterwards. When I woke up this morning my quads really hurt and so did my abs (is that weird?). I figured it was just post work out muscle fatigue and still worked out today for my second run/walk. I thought that the pain would go away during the workout but it got worse and even started hurting in my hip. I completed the workout, stretched and took 800mg motrin. I feel ok now though I still feel like I did about 1000 squats. My question is .. is this normal, should I just work through it? I have never run before but I walk 2.5-3 miles and/or bike 3-4 miles a few times a week. I was on a treadmill doing intervals of 3.7mph and 4.6mph for a total of 2 miles in 30 minutes.
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Replies

  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
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    DOMS is normal, but it sounds like you're pushing it too hard and might be courting injury by compensating to work around the pain. Just walk the next couple of workouts. DOMS usually starts to fade after the second day following the workout that caused it.
  • azkunk
    azkunk Posts: 956 Member
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    Maybe my speed was to high too. The training plan is pretty general and I set the treadmill to the suggested pace. I think I will back down on the pace as well. My goal is not to win the 5K, it's to complete a 5K without walking.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Yeah, that's no good. The first day of C25K is only a handful of 60 second jogs - if that's causing you that much grief, either you're pushing way, way to hard, or you should consider working on your walking stamina.

    EDIT: From further details - that's not a typical Day 1 of C25K. Back of, build slow, follow the program.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    Take a few days to recover and then start again at a much slower speed. There should be no general suggested pace. You should start by running as slow as possible, whatever that means for you. If you can go even slower during the runnign intervals and still call it running, then go slower, even if it is slower than your usual walking pace. Your body needs time to adjust.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    azkunk wrote: »
    Maybe my speed was to high too. The training plan is pretty general and I set the treadmill to the suggested pace. I think I will back down on the pace as well. My goal is not to win the 5K, it's to complete a 5K without walking.

    I find that the Endomondo paces can be a bit hit and miss, I'm not able to check the 5K plan justnow as I'm using Endomondo for marathon training and don't want to disrupt that schedule.

    It sounds like you've pushed too fast.

    Normally for a C25K plan I'd expect day one to be 8 periods of 1 minute running with 90 second walks.

    The ab pain sounds like core strength and it's wise to complement the running with some form of resistance training.

    Try:
    http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/fitness/Pages/12-week-fitness-plan.aspx
  • malcolmjcooper
    malcolmjcooper Posts: 79 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Set the treadmill at a real slow jog just a little faster than you walk the idea is to build up your stamina. Speed will come later as you get further along. It does get better but build up slowly
    Try C25K by zen labs I used that and found it great
  • azkunk
    azkunk Posts: 956 Member
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    I definitely pushed too hard on day 1. I had the goal date of 4/25 entered since I signed up for a fun run on that date. There were 14 intervals in 30 minutes. Running pace suggested at 12:52/mile and walking was 14:06/mile. I set the treadmill as close as I could. After feeling bad the first day, I reset the goal date for the latest date possible which is 7/15 and there were only 7 intervals in 30 minutes with the same paces. But the longer intervals were 2 minutes of running with 1 minute walking. Maybe I should try one of the other apps suggested. Here's a dumb question ... I'm short, 5'3", does my height factor into my effort when trying to keep a pace? I did go for a bike ride today which was a bit slower than my norm but it's my last day off until Thursday. So, I will not run, walk or bike until Thursday and I will not do my stair intervals at work until at least Tuesday.
  • lizardrn95
    lizardrn95 Posts: 14 Member
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    Make sure you're not on an incline. I found that starting with an incline caused a lot of pain--although mine was in my shins.
  • azkunk
    azkunk Posts: 956 Member
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    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    Try:
    http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/fitness/Pages/12-week-fitness-plan.aspx

    Nice! Thanks for the link :smiley:
  • azkunk
    azkunk Posts: 956 Member
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    No incline. I was level. I even got good shoes from a specialty store.
  • azkunk
    azkunk Posts: 956 Member
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    malcolmjcooper wrote: »
    Try C25K by zen labs I used that and found it great

    I will check this one out. Thank you.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    The Endomondo plans are dynamic, inasmuch as they modify based on your achievement. I have found them a little aggressive at times.

    The C25K plans are all much the same, Zen Labs is the same plan as the NHS ones that I linked to above. Similarly the C25K app and Rundouble.

    That said, I find Endomondo to be a very powerful training tool. Personally my Garmin connects to that to allow me to work through my plans. I've used it for 10K performance improvement, Half Marathon and currently Marathon.

  • dougpconnell219
    dougpconnell219 Posts: 566 Member
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    I feel your pain. Literally.

    I'm in week 2 of c25k and my knees hurt so bad I can barely walk today.

    Pretty discouraging. Hopefully it's something my body will adjust to (after A few days of rest) and not something that prohibits me from running at all.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    dougpconnell219 wrote: »
    I'm in week 2 of c25k and my knees hurt so bad I can barely walk today.

    SLOW. DOWN.

    It should not be that way - you're not doing your body any favours.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    edited March 2015
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    dougpconnell219 wrote: »
    I feel your pain. Literally.

    I'm in week 2 of c25k and my knees hurt so bad I can barely walk today.

    Pretty discouraging. Hopefully it's something my body will adjust to (after A few days of rest) and not something that prohibits me from running at all.

    Knee pain is a gigantic warning sign from your body that you need to do something very differently. Could be form, could be shoes. From what I remember about your stats, I personally think you need to drop more weight before trying to run...most parts of your legs adjust to more weight, but joints don't adapt -- they just wear out faster. Stick to lower-impact cardio (race walking is nearly as good a burn as running, and far, far easier on your knees...biking or swimming are also low impact and excellent burns) until you get within ~30 pounds of your goal weight (that ~30 is approximate, based on my running experience over the decades).
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    dougpconnell219 wrote: »
    I feel your pain. Literally.

    I'm in week 2 of c25k and my knees hurt so bad I can barely walk today.

    Pretty discouraging. Hopefully it's something my body will adjust to (after A few days of rest) and not something that prohibits me from running at all.

    Knee pain is never normal. Been there, done that, from getting back to running after a pregnancy, had to take a break from all exercise for weeks, including walking, from idiotically "pushing through the pain". If your knees hurt, not muscles, but knees, take a break, visit the dr if nothing changes, and then start by slowly walking, not running.
  • azkunk
    azkunk Posts: 956 Member
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    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    The Endomondo plans are dynamic, inasmuch as they modify based on your achievement. I have found them a little aggressive at times.

    I really do like Endomondo and I use it for biking, hiking and my dog walks. If I slow down my pace, will it adjust the rest of my workouts? Maybe I need to run a little in the neighborhood so the app can learn my pace instead of me trying to keep up with its pace.
  • azkunk
    azkunk Posts: 956 Member
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    dougpconnell219 wrote: »
    I feel your pain. Literally.

    I'm in week 2 of c25k and my knees hurt so bad I can barely walk today.

    Pretty discouraging. Hopefully it's something my body will adjust to (after A few days of rest) and not something that prohibits me from running at all.

    It sucks when our mind and body aren't on the same page. Hope the rest helps. My plan is to take this as slow as my body needs.
  • MamaMollyT
    MamaMollyT Posts: 197 Member
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    I would suggest slowing down. What is your normal walk speed? Whatever your regular pace is should be what you walk at. For the run it should be comfortable. Just focus on running the 30 seconds and not the speed. It's ok to repeat a week if you need to strengthen. Speed is not a concern at all until you can run the 5k without stopping. Then work on your speed.
  • MamaMollyT
    MamaMollyT Posts: 197 Member
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    Also knee pain is normal for new runners because of the weaknesses in the muscles but that doesn't mean keep running through pain that says stop. If the pain eases off as you warm up then keep going. If not you need a day or two of rest or low impact activity. Ease into running. Drink lots of water, stretch after and use a foam roller to work out soreness.

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