Question for all you jogging experts please.

Do you have good running shoes?

Ditto on the shoes. Make sure you get a pair that has been selected for YOUR feet and how you walk. Go to a store that will do that for you - they measure both of your feet, watch you walk back and forth, and recommend only shoes that are for you. Makes a HUGE difference.

For me, personally, I've also found a big difference in how my legs/knees feel running outside vs. on the treadmill. My knees will ache if I run outside, where there is more pounding. The treadmill provides just enough of a cushion that I don't have the same issue.

get checked out for proper shoes. I started @ 400+ lbs. and give credit to 2 things. 1) having the right type of shoe for my feet 2) being stubborn as hell and wanting to prove all the doubters wrong.

It could be that your ankles just need to get stronger. If you have never run before, or have not run in a long time, the tendons and muscles in your lower legs, ankles, and feet may have gotten weak and need time to adapt and strengthen. Only time and more training within your current ability can fix that. They will get stronger though.

You could try barefoot walking and running as both are excellent ways to strengthen those muscles, tendons, and bones.

Also, see this for good running technique:
http://www.goodformrunning.com/
http://barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/

You need to get properly fitted for a running shoe... Also, make sure you are wearing a RUNNING shoe and not a CROSS TRAINER. Running shoes are built for forward motion, while cross trainers are meant for side to side motion...

Also, are you running on sidewalks? Unfortunately sidewalks aren't as soft as the asphalt they use for roads...so you are putting a lot of pressure on your ankles/shins.

I used to suffer from shin splints too. Now that I have been properly fitted for a good shoe, and my legs are stronger I get no pain.

I agree with shoes and running on the road, as it has a little more cushion than the sidewalk. Also, stretching helps a lot. Stretch before your run, walk for a few minutes to warm up and then stretch when you are done.

Sounds like shin splints. I used to have them, my husband just had his first experience. You can tape the top of your shin, just under the knee, and that will help some. He just started running next to me in the grass, instead of the concrete and he hasn't had as many problems. I'd give the jogging a rest for a week or two, and just walk, to give them time to mend.

Thanks, I appreciate this. Just to clarify, the most intense pain is coming from the lower part of my leg. Literally the bottom most part of my tibia. The knees and upper part is fine. I would almost say that it could be coming from the ankle joint itself.

That really does sound like shin splints and as other posters have pointed out, you shoes are the first place to look. But, not the only place to look.

Shin splints can often be brought on even when people re wearing the correct shoes but increase pace, distance or time running too quickly. It may just be that you need to rest, recover and start slower. I realise you did a sensible amount of running to start but you could consider some leg ad ankle strengthening exercises before you run again. You tube has some good examples.


Also, think about the surfaces you run on. Hard concrete pavements increase th shock nd make shin splint or compartmental syndrome more likely. Best surface for beginners is probably Tarmac or cinder paths.

I have found that stretching after my run helps SO much! I don't stretch before, I just do a 5 minute walk, do my run, 5 minute cool down walk, and then I stretch the crap out of my legs. It's made a world of difference for me.

One tip my cousin gave me (she is a much more accomplished athlete than I ) is is that I was tying my shoes too tight. Easy fix. can't hurt and might help. Worked for me!

I have to agree that it sounds like shin splints. They always affected me at the area you are describing. When I was doing gymnastics the trainer would tape me from ankle to about halfway up my shin.

Shin splints are usually either caused by repetitive hard impact activities on a hard surface (running vault in bare feet on concrete, for example), trying to do too much too quickly (starting to run and doing it every day or for too much distance) or the wrong shoes (bad support). Frankly, it doesn't sound to me like you're really going to far but you might try cutting down your runs to 3 separate one minute jogs instead of 1 three minute jog and see if that helps. Make sure you aren't running more often than every other day and if you are doing high impact activities (30 DS or other aerobics, for example) on the days between, you'll need to pick and choose which is more important to you and limit any to every other day.

If these things don't help, then it probably comes down to needing new shoes. Keep in mind that getting professionally fitted doesn't cost anything. It's a free service the running store provides to its customers to sell them the proper shoe. Find which kind of shoe you need then see if they have a clearance rack.

I can tell you, when I started running last year I used a nearly brand new pair of Adidas I'd purchased at Costco. I had knee issues almost immediately even though I wasn't really running that much yet and was doing more walking. I switched to an older pair of cross trainers and the knee problems went away immediately. Once I was really running longer distances (about 3 miles) I went to the shoe store and was fitted for a pair of running shoes. I've really not had any issues since.

get checked out for proper shoes. I started @ 400+ lbs. and give credit to 2 things. 1) having the right type of shoe for my feet 2) being stubborn as hell and wanting to prove all the doubters wrong.

Yes! I'm singing Toby Keith's "How do you like me now?" just for you! Lol - You rock!

I have to be honest, I didn't even know that there were different types of trainers. How do I tell the difference between running and cross trainers?

You definitely don't want to look for cross trainers. I was just using my situation as an example of how the wrong shoe can cause problems. Cross trainers aren't running shoes, they're made to be used across a wide variety of sports and are just the trainers/sneakers I had purchased in the past for general mucking about and ended up wearing for the first two or three months when I was just starting to run.

Most of the time, the box the shoes come in will tell you if they are a "running" shoe or a "cross trainer." As the other poster noted, a dedicated running store shouldn't be selling cross trainers in the first place, so you shouldn't have to worry about it.