Newish Runner Seeking Advice (Read 270 times)

Hey everyone!

My name is Mike and I've been trying to get in to running. I used to exercise all the time when I was in high school but since I got in to college, I stopped and gained a good amount of weight. I've been trying to run every day with one or two off days every week. Currently I weigh 230 lbs and I'm looking for advice on how to increase distance and the amount I can run without stopping. I can normally run anywhere from 20-40% of a mile before needing to stop and walk for a minute or two. I keep this routine to at least a mile and at most a 5k. What prompted me to write this post is that today I went on a run and the pain in my ankles was so bad at only 75% of a mile that I just had to stop, which is abnormal because I have never stopped before reaching a full mile. I've always had problems with my ankles since I stopped exercising regularly (due to a sprained ankle) and it seems to me like it's getting worse. Ever since I did my first 5k last week it seems like every run is hard (an overuse injury maybe?). So to basically sum it all up, I'm seeking advice on how to prevent the ankle pain that causes me to stop running (because even when my ankles start to hurt, I feel as if I could keep running). Another piece of useful information is that all of my runs have been on a treadmill so far at 5.5mph. Thank you all for reading and I appreciate all helpful responses!

Mike

Hi and welcome!  One thought might just be to slow way down on your run segments.

Also, you might like a program like "couch to 5K" that structures the increase in difficulty.  You can always repeat weeks if you're not ready to move up.

It's OK to run through discomfort, it is not OK to run through pain.  Pain is your body telling you to back off.  Go see a doctor and find out exactly what is happening with your ankles.  You may also want to see a physical therapist.  There are things you can do to help tendons heal.

Running exercises your muscles, builds capillaries,  stresses and strengthens your tendons and bones. and more.  Each of these systems get stronger/better at different rates, muscles strengthen quickly, bones and tendons slowly.  It sounds as if your running ability is and will be limited by the tendons in your ankles.  Tendinitis does get worse slowly, and recovery is even slower.  If you try to run through tendinitis, it can worsen and become tendinosis, which is much worse.

Also, the best training pace is about 2 to 3 minutes per mile slower than your 5K race pace.  Use that pace for all training runs until you have a solid base of pain-free running.  A faster training run once a week or an occasional 5K race is OK.  Train faster only after running a faster 5K.

First you need to lose wt. What is your ideal wt.?  Keep a food log.

Only run three days a week to start. Resting is as important as running.

Spend three days a week in gym. Do lots of core work.

I know it seems miserable right now but as soon as I could run 5 miles without walking it started getting easier.

Do your ABCs. Sit pick up foot and trace the letters in the air. One of your tendons has healed shorter than the other two.

Thanks everyone for reading and for your advice. I will apply it to my future runs and look at elliptical machines.

The first thing I would recommend is SLOW DOWN.  You need to lose weight, which is a function of distance and not speed.  So for now, slow down as much as you need to keep running.  You should to care about speed at all right now.  As you lose weight and gain fitness, you will find yourself running faster at the same effort.  Once you are at a lighter weight, you can start adding real workouts and progress from there.

 

It does take longer to strengthen joints for exercise than your fitness increases.  So when stuff hurts take a pause, back off, recover, and proceed.

Spaniel is right on as usual, & great advice from others as well.  Aerobic, muscular, skeletal in that order.  biggest mistake most new runners  make is too much, too soon.  See that  all the time.  aerobic adaptations improve fairly quickly at the beginning in just a few weeks, & its easy to start increasing speed or distance because of that.   muscular, skeletal adaptations take months or years to fully develop.   Build that base at whatever pace it takes even if you have to slow down even further.  like a pyramid, the bigger that base , the more types of stress (hills, intervals, tempos runs etc) you can add later on.  better to run/walk 4-5 miles @ 12 minute pace 5 days/week  than 3-4 miles @ 10 minute pace 2-3 days/week.   just throwing out #'s  to make a point.

you are doing great so far ! & going through the normal process that most new runners go through.  even experienced runners can go through similar process whenever they ramp up training &  stress.  slow down, take your time, & go to a local running store that have  experienced/knowledgeable help to  make sure you are wearing proper shoes.   good luck!.

First hit reset. Second go to a real running store and get real running shoes for your foot type. Then download the couch to 5k program on your phone or just follow one online and proceed with that. Walk and/or jog slowly. The key is never to skip a planned workout. Have fun!

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