1

Feeling like my body wasn't made to run... (Read 191 times)

elltumbarella


    I started running in December of 2012, and was off from January 20th-April 2nd on a possible stress fracture... I'm sure all of my fitness went away from barely running and then being off for 3 months. The only things I did during my time off were ab workouts and swimming for an hour a day. I just got out of my walking boot 10 days ago and I'm already feeling like I did too much too soon. (Between December 20th and January 20th I got up to 5 mile runs, again too much too soon.)  I though 2 miles 5x Week for the first week back and then 10% increase each following week would be a good plan, but I'm already running into complications. My shin that I had originally hurt isnt giving me problems, its my other shin. Its a dull/stabbing pain in the middle on the inside of my tibia. I don't know if its just me being a whimp or am I going to get a stress fracture in this leg?? Its just one injury after another, I can't catch a break. I used to love running before my initial injury and now it seems like it isnt worth the hassle. Any advice?


    an amazing likeness

      Walk.

      Every day.

      Briskly. As in, striding along.

      1 hour, then more, then more.

      Do this for 6 months, or more.

       

      Then start mixing in running.  Yeah, boring solution. No pizazz, no structured training plan.

      Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

        Its just one injury after another, 

         

        This is your clue.  You are trying to run too far, too fast, too soon.  That 10% per week rule of thumb is only telling you to ramp up mileage slowly.  It does not mean that you can triple your weekly mileage in less than 12 weeks.

         

        Slow down and shorten your runs until the injuries go away.  Go back to the 2 miles 5X per week.  When you are completely injury free, then SLOWLY increase your miles.  If you feel the slightest indication of a possible injury, back off.

         

        It took me over six months to get from 15 MPW to 20 MPW, and another year to get to 30 MPW.  Then I was stuck at 30 MPW for over two years before my body allowed me to increase mileage.

         

        You can run, you just cannot run as far, as fast, as soon as you would like.  Take your time and enjoy the journey.

        cmb4314


           

          This is your clue.  You are trying to run too far, too fast, too soon.  That 10% per week rule of thumb is only telling you to ramp up mileage slowly.  It does not mean that you can triple your weekly mileage in less than 12 weeks.

           

          Slow down and shorten your runs until the injuries go away.  Go back to the 2 miles 5X per week.  When you are completely injury free, then SLOWLY increase your miles.  If you feel the slightest indication of a possible injury, back off.

           

          It took me over six months to get from 15 MPW to 20 MPW, and another year to get to 30 MPW.  Then I was stuck at 30 MPW for over two years before my body allowed me to increase mileage.

           

          You can run, you just cannot run as far, as fast, as soon as you would like.  Take your time and enjoy the journey.

           

          All of this.  Just take your time - 2 miles, 5x a week is a pretty significant load for a brand new runner.

           

          I know that my body was not made to run.  I'm big, flat footed, and knock kneed.  I overpronate like crazy, and not even symmetrically.  My heels nearly smack into each other when I walk, and my feet flail out to the sides when I run.

           

          But, I have trained for three marathons, and run as much as 55 miles in a week without getting hurt.  The only times I have gotten hurt? When I have pushed myself too far for my fitness, and ended up with overuse injuries.

           

          I am getting out of my walking boot next week (fingers crossed) after about 10 weeks off, and it's going to be a long, slow mileage buildup for me.

          My wildly inconsistent PRs:

          5k: 24:36 (10/20/12)  

          10k: 52:01 (4/28/12)  

          HM: 1:50:09 (10/27/12)

          Marathon: 4:19:11 (10/2/2011)