marathon runners

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suzycreamcheese
suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
How do you do it?

im training for a half marathon in october, and thats one thing. Im up to 11 miles now, so am confident ill be ok for the 13 in october, probably before.
However ive signed up for a full marathon next april (Brighton) and i have absolutely no idea how im gonna run that far.
Its not my fitness im worried about, but my legs absolutely kill me when i run a distance, my hips hurt, my knees hurt etc. Does this ever go? Do other runners get this?

Replies

  • sweetheart03622
    sweetheart03622 Posts: 928 Member
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    When I started training for my half my knees hurt me for about the first 6 weeks and gradually stopped. Are you wearing proper shoes? What kind of surface are you running on? It sounds to me like you either need some more cushioned shoes or you need to work on your form if it's still hurting this far in.
  • Jessicareneho
    Jessicareneho Posts: 3
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    ice and ibuprofen are your friend.... more so the ice hopefully. when i trained for my first half, my knees and everything hurt all the time so I iced on a regular basis (about 30 minutes once or twice a day) and popped a lot of ibuprofen. When I trained for my second half, i went about it a little differently and did a LOT more cross training in addition to the running. I think this helped because I felt great leading up to and during and after the half marathon. I only iced once during the entire 12 week program and didn't really take any ibuprofen. And the bonus was that I was ready to go back to the gym the next day, whereas the first one, I was hurting for about a week and a half after. Are you using a specific program to train?
  • Arizona_JR
    Arizona_JR Posts: 275
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    Time and patience will get you there. It's that simple. You can't force it. Just let it happen slowly, and your legs and hips will adjust to the demands, and next thing you know you crossed the finish line.
  • Dizzle_65
    Dizzle_65 Posts: 249 Member
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    Is there a Sweatshop or specialist running shop near you? If so get your gait checked out, a good running shop will video your stride and suggest the right type of shoe.

    Also vary your routes, ruin off road if you can, trail running has less impact on your body and the varied terrain makes you work harder. Good luck
  • wanderson99
    wanderson99 Posts: 11
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    Shoes make a huge difference. They may still look nice on the surface, but they wear out quickly when you are running to much. I used to have trouble with my hips when running too. I got new shoes and it made a huge difference. I went to a running specialty store and they videoed my feet while running which then enabled them to make brand suggestions. Also, try some hip stretches, they help too! Good luck!
  • runningneo122
    runningneo122 Posts: 6,962 Member
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    It's all about proper shoes and proper form. I was running in the proper shoes for my gate/footstrike(neutral) and still having sore legs after a long run. I switched to VFF's and after the transition I have no more trouble. I have to hold myself back to avoid overuse injuries. I finish a long run and have no pain and energy left to go a lot farther. I'm up to 9 miles now and never felt good going 8 miles in my NB 1064's. Keep trying different shoes until you find what work for you. For me it's minimalist from now on.
  • javaruck
    javaruck Posts: 47 Member
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    The advice to check your shoes would also be my first suggestion. Go to a good running store and be willing to pay a bit more for really good shoes that are properly fitted (and the right type for your gait) and you should see an improvement.

    I also find that mixing a lot of cross training into my training helps a lot. Bicycling, eliptical and even doing a portion of my running on a treadmill helps ease some of the aches on muscles and joints. I always do my long runs outdoors and seem to be OK with distances up to 20 miles as far as not being a wreck after a run.

    Once you build up your training, hopefully you will find it easier to run longer distances without to much pain.

    Good luck! I hope you can tweak your training so that you can accomplish your goal. I'm in the process of training for my 4th marathon this November. It becomes addictive for reasons that I still can't figure out...
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
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    maybe i need new shoes.
    Ive only had them about 4 months, but they dont feel as cushioned as when i first got them. theyre Kswiss tubes.
    Ill see if i can get to a proper running shop soon.

    My hip problem was a lot worse until i went to a physio and she gave me some stretches to do because my knees point inwards slightly rather than to the front, and she said this can be a problem with LDR. Ive been doing the stretches on and off, but not religiously because i can only remember a few of them, and she wanted me to keep going back, which i cant afford. I have put orthotics in my shoes and this has helped too, as i definitely over pronate.
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
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    i do find when i run off road, its a lot easier on my knees too, but i like to do both to vary up my routes a bit
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
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    My knees used to hurt when I ran long distances. They stopped hurting when I switched to minimalist shoes and changed my running form.

    I believe that the biggest cause of running pain and running injuries is simply poor running form that puts excess and unneeded stress on the joints.

    See http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/4BiomechanicsofFootStrike.html
  • cammons
    cammons Posts: 126 Member
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    Check out Jeff Galloway and his Run Walk Run methods. They have helped a lot of people (myself included) run faster/longer/with reduced recovery time.

    He has several books that you can check out (including one that focuses on the marathon), information on his website (http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/marathon.html) and was part of The Extra Mile Experiment (part of The Extra Mile podcast) in which he was interviewed and several people used his programs to train for marathons.
  • cammons
    cammons Posts: 126 Member
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    ....but shoes are critical too. :)
  • alexfaty
    alexfaty Posts: 61
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    Good luck, I am in London next April so we can keep each other running over the winter.

    Think the most important thing is to go and get some really good advice about you shoes, as has been said before somewhere like the sweetshop are great and will help, make sure you let them know about where your pains are and they maybe able to help with the shoes.

    The other think I have learnt is try not to over do the running, I know it seams crazy but when you start training for marathons you really need to listen to your aches and pains. for example if I do more than 30miles a week my legs really don't seam to like it I get ankle pain and then end not running to recover. So find out how far you can run a week without getting injured and then you can get a training plan together to include what ever milage suits you PLUS cross training, cycling is really good at get your legs stronger especially if you us e clips. Any form of circuit training is good to help you run faster.

    It is also really, really easy not to stretch before and after a run, I am really bad at it! I am going for a 2hour run tomorrow morning at 6, I need to be back and showered etc by 9 to go out. So I will dash out of the door do my run and then run straight in up to a bath! Not good, one way I have found to make me think a bit is to walk the first and last 10mins, i wont start my garmin until I have started running and stop it before I walk the last bit. It also helps wind up and down..

    Also have a look at runners world website, it gives you loads of training plans and advice on injuries and how not to get them! But don't run though an injury without seeing a physio or someone first!

    Good Luck

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