What can my aches and pains tell me about my form/what I'm doing incorrectly?
5BeautifulDays
Posts: 683 Member
I seem to have something going on with my long run where my left achilles/arch hurts and my right knee/hip flexor hurt. I'm fine (except for the normal first mile stiffness) until about mile 5 or so, and then the twinges start. I don't think I'm to the point I'd call anything an injury--but I'd like to keep it that way! What is the most likely thing I'm doing wrong that would cause these problems? I don't have any pain to speak of when I run on the treadmill, or outside on shorter runs. I don't know if the problem is my gait, the distance, or the fact that my long run is in my trail shoes (a neutral shoe with orthotics, vs my stability gym/street shoe) and primarily on gravel.
Pertinent info: I'm 44, a new runner (7 months), and I run about 25 miles per week (5-6 days). My long run is currently 7.5 miles once per week.
Any idea what I'm doing or how I can fix this?
Pertinent info: I'm 44, a new runner (7 months), and I run about 25 miles per week (5-6 days). My long run is currently 7.5 miles once per week.
Any idea what I'm doing or how I can fix this?
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As a new runner it's fairly common for your body to pretty much be like "wtf are you doing to me?" It takes time for your body to strengthen for these long runs and get used to the extended periods of pounding on your joints, tendons, and muscles. Increase gradually. I always recommend incorporating strength training into any running program. It will help keep you healthy. Keep at it. As long as it doesn't feel like an injury, keep pushing.0
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I'd get a full body deep tissue massage (ouch) and then have a chat with the masseur about what was particularly tight and why.0
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My knees used to hurt when I started running (I'm still a 'new' runner it sonly been a year all together with a winter break!) I think that was just from going to far too fast when I first started. I have been running regularly 3x a week since February now and have no knee pain at all because I eased into it. my weekly mileage is only 15ish miles though, so not as much as you OP.0
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As a new runner it's fairly common for your body to pretty much be like "wtf are you doing to me?" It takes time for your body to strengthen for these long runs and get used to the extended periods of pounding on your joints, tendons, and muscles. Increase gradually. I always recommend incorporating strength training into any running program. It will help keep you healthy. Keep at it. As long as it doesn't feel like an injury, keep pushing.
I agree with this. Yoga and pilates to strengthen your core are a great help in easing those little aches and pains. Your form will naturally work itself out over time.0 -
I do strength training twice a week, but I agree that a yoga or pilates class would be helpful for stretching out the tight spots. Not sure how I feel about massage! My trainer gave me the name of someone, but I've been a little afraid to do it, since I don't even like gentle back-rubs, usually.
Thanks for the thoughts, everyone. It's good to know that this is probably "normal" stuff working out. I have been trying to keep that balance between pushing myself and staying injury-free. All my other attempts to get fit in the past have been derailed by repetitive stress injuries. I've tried to go slowly with the running to build up my strength--but I started out with crackly knees and flat feet, so I feel like I have to be super careful.0 -
Achilles tendonitis is almost always an overuse injury. Typically it's upping mileage too quickly and being a fairly new runner going out 5-6 times a week is most likely the culprit. Foam rolling the entire hip & leg area is a really good method of treatment along with a good regime of stretching. I do about 15-20 minutes of stretching & core work 2 times a days. I've battled calf, shin splints & Achilles issues on and off as I trekked into new uncharted territories with my mileage. One thing my trainer pounds in my head every time we get together is most lower leg problems start in the hips & IT band area. Once those get tight it hurts your running form putting more stress on another area, like the knee, calf or Achilles.0
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Once I had severe enough pain in my achilles that I actually couldn't run a single step. I had a sports massage booked anyway, so I told the masseur about it. It turned out there was nothing wrong with my achilles at all but it was just SERIOUSLY tight glutes; he ground his elbow around in it in a horrifically painful way, told me to wait a couple of days, then start running, and I never had a problem ever again. Now I make sure I stretch my glutes post-run and I'm fine.0
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Are you doing any stretching and foam rolling and proper warm up before a run? Doing those consistently have made a huge difference in my ability to run (20-30 miles a week). I'm 44 and find that I get tight much easier than when I was younger. If I'm not good about stretching/foamroll, then I get flare ups of "runner's knee", and plantar fasciitis.
You may want to reduce running days to 4-5, not 6, to give your legs extra rest, too. Finally, do you track the mileage on your shoes? Are the shoes you have wearing out, by chance?0 -
brandiuntz wrote: »Are you doing any stretching and foam rolling and proper warm up before a run? Doing those consistently have made a huge difference in my ability to run (20-30 miles a week). I'm 44 and find that I get tight much easier than when I was younger. If I'm not good about stretching/foamroll, then I get flare ups of "runner's knee", and plantar fasciitis.
You may want to reduce running days to 4-5, not 6, to give your legs extra rest, too. Finally, do you track the mileage on your shoes? Are the shoes you have wearing out, by chance?
Guilty shuffling around on the whole "warm up" thing. I do stretch--although I think I've been very inefficient about it. I also need to do a better job rolling out. It's really easy to jump straight from my run to the shower and then on to my day.
I don't want to reduce my mileage too much (I have a 10k in a month and a half in February), but I am planning to reduce to 5 days of slightly longer runs and maybe adding a swim day.
My shoes should still be good, but I do wonder if I need a different kind. I wear Saucony Guide 8s on the treadmill and the street--they're at 300 miles and I have a new pair ready to go at the end of the month--but I don't hurt when I wear them, generally. It's my trail shoes (Saucony Peregrine 5s with pink super feet with about 90 miles on them) and my outdoor trail/gravel runs that are giving me grief. But I don't know if that's the shoe, the surface, the distance, or some combo of those things.0 -
5BeautifulDays wrote: »I seem to have something going on with my long run where my left achilles/arch hurts and my right knee/hip flexor hurt. I'm fine (except for the normal first mile stiffness) until about mile 5 or so, and then the twinges start. I don't think I'm to the point I'd call anything an injury--but I'd like to keep it that way! What is the most likely thing I'm doing wrong that would cause these problems? I don't have any pain to speak of when I run on the treadmill, or outside on shorter runs. I don't know if the problem is my gait, the distance, or the fact that my long run is in my trail shoes (a neutral shoe with orthotics, vs my stability gym/street shoe) and primarily on gravel.
Pertinent info: I'm 44, a new runner (7 months), and I run about 25 miles per week (5-6 days). My long run is currently 7.5 miles once per week.
Any idea what I'm doing or how I can fix this?
rotating shoes and tracking mileage on them is really important.
have similar stats to you, and similar problem was resolved by replacing long run shoes.
i also swear by compression socks,esp post run overnight.
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Compression socks are definitely for post run, the only time I wear them during a run is on overgrown trails, and it's basically to protect from scratches, nettle, etc. Foam roll, foam roll, foam roll. Alternately, I have a lacrosse ball that I use for massage also. While you are lying in bed hit your calves, quads, glutes (particularly the gluteus medius for me) and ITB. Spend 5-10 minutes every night before bed. Your shoes might not be worn out, but are they the right shoes for you? It took me a lot of experimentation before I found the right family of shoes to suit my running and learned to figure out when they needed replaced. As others have said, achilles pain can be related to overuse also. Based on your mileage you are ready for your 10K and you have 6 months before your HM. You've got plenty of time to train, even if you reduce your mileage for a couple of weeks to heal up. You won't lose a significant amount of fitness or ability and you will only be proverbially shooting yourself foot to try and maintain unsustainable mileage through an injury.0
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I agree with massage/foam roller and maybe a chiropractor, along with core work. Imbalances in the hips and core can cause all sorts of downstream and upstream problems, many of the downstream problems are amplified by the demands of running. If you go to a massage therapist you can let them know your concerns and ask them to take it easy. But in my experience, 20 or so minutes of really firm 'sports medicine' massage can help a lot - for me in both my hips/glutes and my neck/upper back.0
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