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Ankles and knees hurt (Read 65 times)

Babychloe11


    Hello, I'm 20 and a girl. I'm 5 foot 3 and weigh 120 lbs. I started running about a month ago and I find when I do big runs it hurts my knees and anklesSad for example I went on an 8k run on Sunday and they still hurt! Is this okay?

    Babychloe11


      NooneSad

        No, it's not normal to be sore after a 5 mile run, 4 days later..

        How often do you run?

        How are your running shoes?

        Did you work up to 5 miles?

        JML


          It is hard to answer this without a bit more context:

          - What constitutes a 'big run'?

          - What does your normal running week look like?  (# of training days, mileage etc)

          - What are you wearing on your feet when you run?  Did you purchase them specifically for running from a running store or from somewhere else?

          - Were you ever a runner before?

           

          There are many things that can cause the pain that you describe.  I remember when I started running again and I went through many of the newer runner growing pains (shin splints, runner's knee etc).  More experienced runners here on RunningAhead helped me to work through these issues.  Some of the pain may be just your legs getting acclimated to the stress of running or it could be something else. Please try to give us some more information and you will probably hear from a number of people.

          Rebuilding my aerobic base....racing next year.....nothing to see here....move along now.

          Babychloe11


            I usually only do a 1 mile run. (Though that is with hills) the 8k run was on a track. I just got new shoes and they had seemed to be working well. Running is new to me though. So I don't know exactly how they are supposed to feel or how I'm supposed to feel.

            Babychloe11


              and I got my shoes from a running store

              Babychloe11


                I usually run every second day.

                JML


                  Jumping from a typical training day of a 1 mile run to a full 8K is probably the cause of your pain.  At your current level of training, you would be better served by running shorter distances more often than by aiming for a big run each week.  Try slowly adding distance to your 1 mile runs until you can comfortably run 3 miles for a 'normal' run.  Once you can do this 3-4 times per week, you can then think about making one of these runs slightly longer.  The key thing here is to add to the running distance gradually to allow your body time to acclimate.

                  Rebuilding my aerobic base....racing next year.....nothing to see here....move along now.

                  JML


                    One other thing:  Do log your training miles here and consider making your training log public.  You will get much better advice from people on RunningAhead if they can see how you are training.

                     

                    Good luck

                    Rebuilding my aerobic base....racing next year.....nothing to see here....move along now.


                    SheCan

                      When I first started running, I would often hurt many days later after an especially hard run.   Knees and ankles endure the most abuse while running and are apt to become achy.  Plus, it's completely normal for people to need to recuperate after a big race.  So if you've put a lot into a particular run you might have pushed your body in to needing more then your usual amount of recovery time.

                      Cherie

                      "We do not become the people who this world needs simply by turning our backs on anyone we don’t like, trust, or deem healthy enough to be in our presence. "  ---- Shasta Nelson

                      Babychloe11


                        I will start logging my miles on here. Thank you for the advice everyone. It really helps!

                          One other thing to consider is cross training.  Running will build certain muscles in your leg but have little benefit to other muscles.  This can lead to issues such as your knee cap not tracking correctly.  Cross training with something like cycling or swimming can have big benefits.