I HAVE to be doing something wrong (Read 1519 times)

So I ran 6 miles today. Hurrah! Longest run ever! I'm running a 10k in a about a week, so, that's good. It took me 1:43:02. That's 17 minute miles. I know we're supposed to run easy miles and all, but that. Is. Ridiculous. I didn't even walk. I wish I had, I probably would've made it in under an hour and a half. Here are my issues: 1. Cramps. I get side stitches / other assorted abdominal cramps (there's a nasty recurring one along my ribcage) really, really easily. Like, if I push the pace AT ALL. I don't think I've ever run faster than 12:30 miles, mostly because that entails lots of pain. b. My feet are killing me. The hurting starts in my arches around 3.5 miles and gets worse until I stop. It feels like I'm flattening my arches with every step I take. I wear a pair of beasts known as Brooks Addiction, which fixed my knee tendinitis but apparently have no arch support. I have heard nice things about superfeet green. Will they fix all my problems? iii. Possibly related to point b, my hips & lower back hurt like a mother when I go up hills. This could be because until now I have strenuously avoided anything larger than a speedbump, but could be related to the above foot issue. Ugh. I am a mess and I can't believe I have to do this AGAIN in a week. HALP, as the LOLcats say.

Dude don't fear walk breaks. Unless you are a natural runner you will GREATLY benefit from walk breaks especially on long runs. I find that on any more than just a couple miles I am faster if I talk walk breaks. Also one bit of advice take then before you think you need them. You will be amazed at your stamina.

I'd say watch your posture on the hills. It sounds like you might be bending forward a little, I'm guessing because of the cramps. Instead, try to keep yourself standing straight. Concentrating on tightening your abs should help take some of the stress off your back. Something to think about on the cramps: This sounds like a problem I had a couple years ago, that turned out not to actually be side stitches. They were often bilateral and poorly localized, but otherwise felt like side stitches. They didn't go away over the course of a run (as side stitches tend to do), but instead got worse until I was doubled over and walking. Eating didn't change anything, breathing didn't change anything, supporting my liver didn't change anything, and they started to hurt when I did anything at all, including washing dishes. It turned out to be from twisting of the intercostal fascia (at least, this was what my PT told me, I've never been able to find any further information on it). I could reproduce the sensation by raising my arm, sticking my fingers between my ribs directly underneath my armpits (and some other spots) and inhaling. The magical fix for this seemed to be to do exactly that a number of times to massage them out, while stretching my arm sort of in front of my face and upward. That worked great for me, but she also told me that a good myofascial massage therapist could sort it out.

Hi there. My feet have a long history of being a mess. I'd suggest going back to a good local running store and tell them your troubles. And you can likely try some Superfeet there. I've run in them and they helped keep my feet from flattenning out. But I have new Mizunos and they feel beter w/o the SF greens. my feet are weird. It can be frustrating but the best advice I got from my running store was simple, "Running shouldn't hurt". Don't give up, it took me over a year to get to a point where I liked my shoes rather than just saying, "Well, these suck the least". I say go back to the running store because you want to make sure they're not over-correcting. That's what happened to me. Not enough stability, I get shin splints. Too much stability, I get shin splints. Finding that happy medium is immediate for some. For others, it can take quite a bit of trial and error. As far as the side stitches, I get them too. Other suggestions such as not eating too close to running are good. One other I use is to belly breathe. Relax and make sure your stomach expands as you inhale and exhale, rather than having your chest expand as you inhale. I also always exhale as my left foot hits the ground. I heard other people echo that trick. There is some physiological reason for exhaling as your left foot strikes. That and being relaxed, belly breathing really works (at least for me).

It sounds like you could benefit from some strength training for your legs and core. All of the symptoms you describe are likely the result of running with a heavy stride which puts a lot of stress on your legs. Try running barefoot on a hard surface to see what I mean. To do so without pain, you need to land lightly and with your weight forward to keep you off your heels. Some exercises to consider are squats, lunges and leg extensions for your quads, toe lifts or taps to strengthen the ankle dorsiflexors (to keep your feet from slapping down when you run), and good old sit-ups and back arches for your stomach and lower back. If you've had trouble with ITB pain you may also want to pick up an exercise back and work your hip adductors and abductors. This will help keep your pelvis level when you run instead of tilting with each step. Another thing that will help reduce the impact forces on your legs is to work on shortening your stride which will force you to land more on your mid foot and less on your heels. There is an excellent book on form called Programmed to Run by Thomas Miller. It is loaded with drills and exercises to help improve your form. Tom

Hey Squeaky. I just wanted to add my support. Quite awhile back I was "mis-diagnosed" as needing a motion control shoe and led to the Addictions and I only lasted 3 months before I had knee issues. It turned out I'm not a pronator and don't need them, but those things are bricks and can really do a number on you. In my case I switched to neutral (I'm a high arched semi-supinator) and have never had knee issues since. So you're doing the right thing to question them. My other thought is just something to keep in mind. We're all different, but I try to keep my long runs no more than 50% of my weekly mileage. Pace aside, maybe you could consider backing off the miles until you get things figured out. Perhaps fewer comfortable miles might be a better starting base than more painful ones. Take care and keep us posted!

I haven't had issues with side stitches much but I've heard that doing a few sets of crunches or sit ups before heading out for a run can really help with that. Might want to give that a go.

John Gives GREAT advice for you.... I think what might be going on is just the Increasing your mileage thing. It happens. Once I battled and got over shin splints, as I got over the 20 mile per week mark, my knees started shit with me. I did make a shoe change, with a GREATER degree of Stability, as I think the increased mileage was too much for my moderate stability shoe, My arches and lower legs were killing me, suffering major dead legs, and not enjoying running all that much. I needed something more stable to support the miles, and keep my arches happy. When your arches get the proper support, you take all that stress off of your lower legs, and Mine seem to really be helping me. ( although my knees are still cranky, but I think it's from a muscle imbalance because my calves were working entirely too hard and made for weaker knees and quads). We all benefit from slowing down, running smart, and listening to our body. You will find your magic combination, we all do at some point. Good Luck!