New to running! (Read 1849 times)

I always thought "Uggghh..Running, impossible, I'm more of a weight lifter than a runner" I said this because I didn't think I had any endurance at all and that running was virtually impossible for me, but one of my clients the other day spoke with me about running and encouraged me to start a program, learn to run, because she enjoys it immensely (runs a fitness program), and I decided "Ok, what the heck, why not?" I've ran before, but not for long distances or even for the purpose of actually running--it has usually been to run away from things or people (what can I say? I was a mischievious kid) So, 3 days ago..I decided to start. I learned alot real quick--first off--gotta get some biker shorts because the chafing is not so good on the inner thighs , skater shoes are not good for running (The only shoes I had at the time) and yet--I managed to surprise myself immensely. I decided to go for intervals and try the walk 10 min, run 1 min. to gradually build up endurance and stamina, and I ended up running for 10 min. within a 24 min. period, the next night 10 min. in a 20 min. period, and last night 8 min. in a 12 min. period. Although I think I pushed a little too much I was testing myself, and I'm not such a horrible runner after all. But, I still need help. I just bought some runners today to make my runs better on my knees, ankles, et cetera-however, I still need to work on my form. I run heavy....not lightly, strides are short, any recommendations? I was going to just slow it down some, run in a more natural way not so forced, work on longer strides, and take more breaks to compensate for it, what do you advanced ones think?

The best advice I can give you is: be patient and don't hurt yourself. So many people start running, get really motivated, injure themselves with overtraining, and then quit, believing that they're just not capable of running safely. The way I see it, running requires cardio fitness, muscle fitness, and joint fitness. The cardio comes quickly -- it improves week to week, especially when you're just starting. Muscle endurance improves more slowly, on the order of months. Joints fitness is the slowest to improve, and injured joints take a very long time to heal properly. So it's easy to fall into a trap of injuring yourself if you ignore any of these separate aspects of fitness. Your increased lung power will make you feel good, and you'll want to push much harder. But your muscles or joints might not be ready for that yet, and they'll let you know it. As you gain experience you'll learn which pains you can push through, and which pains will only get worse the more you try to ignore them. When a nagging pain threatens to become an injury you need to drastically reduce your training until you're feeling 100%. Form is very important. I just read 'ChiRunning" by Danny Dreyer, which applies Tai Chi techniques to get you to improve your form, and it's definitely helpling me. Good luck!

You need recovery time. That can either be days when you don't run, or days when you run really easy. As long as you feel refreshed and not sore after your recovery day, then it's working. If not, lighten up. A recovery run is not a workout, it's more like just doing a warmup to get the blood flowing and loosen up. I've spent whole summers running six days a week, and it really does wear me down. Eventually I need to take a serious break. Right now I"m training for my third marathon and only running four days per week. I can do much better workouts if I put rest days in between.

Don't let the sore knees get you down. I would say that the first 4-5 months for me were all about sore knees--now I really don't have too much in the way of knee soreness, anymore. Now what causes soreness is running on snow and ice, but those pains aren't so much in my knees. Sounds like you are on the right track and you've got some great advice from others here. k

Kelly, Hi I'm brand new to this forum and yours just happened to be the first post I read! I am a runner of 31 years. First off, it's always great to have another runner join our ranks out there. You happened to unfortunately fall into the trap of being overzealous, too eager, too fast! Just started running and 6 nights/week is a recipe for disaster. But, now that you are beginning to realize your mistake and get sound advice from the posters here, you may be on your way to a successful running regimen. The 2 groups of runners that get injured the most are, unfortunately the beginners, like yourself, not that knowledgable and the very "elite" who have incredible knowledge at their disposal, but are always training on the "edge". You should've started by taking baby steps, just set a goal of working up to 30 min. of steady running, 3x week. If you have to walk say 15 and run 15 on the same workout, that's great. Allow a day of rest, then attempt another 30 min. effort. You'll find you are well rested and eventually the walking time will decrease while the running time increases. You would be wise, to go to a running specialty store and get a professional to properly fit you. Some stores have a forceplate that you run over and they can tell instantly how you land and fit you accordingly. A good price range is around $50/70 dollars. That is about a mid range and you can get an excellent running shoe. If you become hooked in this sport, you will naturally seek out subject matter on the art of running. Don't fret, most everyone goes through trial and error, before things really go right, but stay the course and you'll be fine! Hope you become a runner for Life!!

 my knees are really sore after I have ran on a treadmill vs running out side 

I'm no expert, but it is my understanding that knee pain can be caused by landing too heavily on your heels, do you find that you are more prone to doing this on the treadmill?

Gina

some people struggle with overstriding on a treadmill because of the action of the belt dragging the standing  foot backwards.  You can neutralize your stride to be more similar to outside with a 1-2% grade. 

 

The other issue can be pace.  Some people run much faster on a TM than outside because it seems easier to hold pace, but that can result in pounding.  Or even just the lack of pace and incline variation can be much harder on the body.  Any time you think of it, push a button.  Speed up, slow down, incline up, incline down. 

Argh, I hate it when old threads get bumped