so, I started running, and i LOVE it

I mean L-O-V-E. I'm not very good yet, but I like it

But I think I'm done for

I'm hoping it's me overdoing my squats (5 reps @60kg) and that's why I'm in so much pain...

I've been having pain on the inner side of my knees, not in the kneecap but in the joint on the side - a LOT of pain - couldn't sleep last night kind of pain. And no, I haven't been RICEing enough - as soon as I start working out the pain kinda went away, so I just kept going. Prolly dumb, but hey - i'm still a n00b. I HAVE been eating extra protein though 'cause of the new weight routine to help my muscles get all better.

At the same time I've basically been having a lot of pain in ALL the muscles from my waist down, but that's just the squats... I now know JUST how big my butt is, because I can feel every square inch!

Anyway, the joint pain *sigh*

Got ice packs. Going to use them. Hoping that'll help.
Buying neoprene knee support thingies tomorrow. They SAY it'll help keep the tendons warm while I'm jogging which will work preventative...
I'm only running every other day, and not THAT much at all - I've just started week 2 of the couch-to-5k program.

The pain only started when I ran the third day of week 1 of c25k, went away the next day, came back the day after I started week 2...

I'm writing this for two reasons. One, because I'm TERRIFIED about not being able to run 'cause I'm ruining my knees and I need to vent. I'm feeling frustrated and helpless and scared that all my progress is about to come to a screeching halt. Oh my gawd I feel hormonal lol.

Two, I'm desperately hoping that y'all will tell me that I CAN keep running. I doubt you will, but...? Hope springs eternal or whatever that saying is!


hmm, did this post make ANY sense?

Spyke, your running career probably isn't over. Give yourself some time to heal. It may very likely be the squats. Don't give up hope yet!! Take it easy for a few days until you aren't in so much pain. Make sure you stretch - a lot! The more you stretch, the quicker the pain will go away if it is muscular. If it is joint pain, then you may need to take it really easy with the running and lifting. Keep in mind that your body is not used to all this movement and exercise and is probably like "What the crap is going on?? I don't like this. I just want to sit around and be lazy because that is what I am used to." (Yes your body can talk - haha!) But once you get used to it, and lose some weight (which will put less stress on the joints), I think you should be fine. Just make sure you listen to your body (not the nagging lazy part, but the pain/not pain part), and don't over do it.

Don't give up!!

Thanks Rachael for the quick reply!


Can you (or anyone else) point me to a site showing some good stretches? I've been kinda winging it until now.

No need to tell me that - mine has been bitching at me for over a month - about as long as I've been working out lol!

THAT is the most difficult! Like I said, when I'm working out, I don't feel the pain (I like to tell myself it's because I'm soooo focused ), and one thing I HAVE to be good at since I'm training alone with no partner, no trainer, is pushing myself over all of my limits. It's helped me lose the 40-or-so lbs I've lost so far, but now that my fitness level is up I can push way to far (if that's possible...)

I am guessing 9 to 1 it is the squats because I felt the same way after starting squats... But as soon as I started exercising the pain went away so it is a good sore? I guess.... but no you will be able to run again.

even the joint pain? 'cause the muscle pain i was more than expecting but...

I'd take a week off to recover (swim if that's available), and start back up with just walking (at a good pace that gets your HR up). Keep that up for a few weeks before getting back into the c25k - remember that you're putting a HUGE amount of stress on your knees at your weight (I believe it's something along the lines of up to 4X your body weight).

@Edit - I know I've mentioned it before, but are you on glucosamine/chondroitin? You should be.

Lay off the squats. When you've been walking a week, start squats again w/ light weights, and concentrate completely on form. Knees out, back straight, use your glutes, etc... If done properly, squats shouldn't hurt your knees at all, but if done improperly, it's not worth the risk to your back and knees...

that's what I did to day - 6kpm on a 6% incline (is that even a decent rate? It only got my heart rate up to about 155-160, but anything faster and I'm tempted to jog )


that's what I was afraid of.

Are you sure you're not just saying that so you can win the 35lb challenge?

whassat?

hmm... on second thought, we want you to be a runner for life, take 5-6 weeks off

Seriously, stop going to the gym for a week - give your body some time and energy to use healing itself. And when you get back, work yourself up slowly. Setbacks suck, but you want to do this for the long-term, right?

On G/C - this is a supplement for joint comfort and recovery. It takes about 1-2months to really start working, but is very helpful with those who might regularly have joint pain. I notice a huge difference with my knees - I have an old knee injury and was able to go snowboarding yesterday with minimal discomfort last night and today (except on my neck and ass, first to hit in a fall).

ok, if its that much pain it's wrong.

I'm guessing you weigh a bit more than you should.

Have you checked that your pronation is correct, it sounds like you might be a bit flat footed.

URL

How about 4 days? I can do 4 days

Side question: Should I eat less the days that I'm not working out??


YES!!

Definitely flat footed - I just bought new running shoes that are supposed to correct for it.


Come to think of it, could some of my pain be because I'm breaking my new running shoes in??


A bit more than I should... I don't think I've ever heard someone say it so nicely lol

I have about 90lbs left to my goal weight.

omg! That's less than 100! YAY!

A week is arbitrary - wait until the pain is gone. I know how frustrating it is, but it's also a good idea to just take a week off every so often (I do it every 2 months or so).



Hopefully you won't be quite as hungry! Don't worry too much about cutting calories, but don't eat more because you're bored - go to bed if you've got the munchies!



Interesting possibility, but I would think only likely if they are VERY MUCH the wrong shoes... You should see an instant improvement from the right running shoes.



Congratulations!

I hate to say it, but I told you so in a previous post:



My best advice is to ice it, take aleve, and stop running. You can't push through a knee injury for the most part, it will get worse. When I say worse, I mean not even get out of bad hurt.

I can't run anymore due to chronic jumper's knee, so I swim, lift, cycle, grapple, and box. It sucks not to be able to run, but there are a lot of non-impact sports that will not destroy your joints.

Running is the easiest way to lose weight, but that shortcut isn't always available. Divert your efforts into other sports until the knees heal up. Don't even jog.

True - I guess I just assumed that since it went well the first few times that it would continue... *sigh*

but hey - I'm counting on it not being permanent. I'll just have to up the resistance again on the elliptical machine - that's ok, right?

Yeah your knees don't like pounding on the treadmill. Ease back into elliptical, if your knees still hurt like hell don't do it.

Elliptical and bike actually help with knee pain if you do low resistance, high revolution 10 minute sets. I do these knee rehab exercises that might help you:

Standing Leg Lifts
Stand with your back against the wall. Lift one leg up as high as you can with the knee straight. Hold for five seconds, then bend your knee to relax, hold for five seconds. Straighten your leg again, and do five of these before switching to the other leg. Over time, see if you can build up to ten seconds.

Foot Turns
Lie down or sit in a chair and stretch both legs out, knees straight and feet pointed up toward the knees. Tighten your thigh muscles and turn your feet out as far as you can, holding for ten seconds. Now turn your feet in as far as you can and hold for ten seconds, keeping your thigh muscles tight for the entire exercise. Do three of these sets.

Foot Press
Either sitting or lying down, put one foot on top of the other and pull up with your lower foot as you push down with the upper foot. Hold that for ten seconds, and then switch feet and repeat. Try five sets of these.

I've look at some sites to recommend, but I've been stretching since I was like I don't know 5 or something. I did gymnastics and then I did sports in JH and HS so stretching is just something that I do. If you were here, I'd run you through a set of stretches, but I don't think that'll work This URLweb site has some of the stretches I do. Just look around online and make sure you stretch all the major muscle groups.

I had problems with what I thought was my knees right after I started running...turns out it was tendonitis. I think maybe I had pushed it too hard too fast. The doctor basically told me to take it easy and take a butt-load of ibeprofen to help with the inflammation. I would suggest trying the ibeprofen and see if that helps at all.

Don't give up yet!

I tried staying away from this post...... You were probably expecting me to be here sooner because I always say take it slow or you will hurt yourself.

Sorry you have hurt yourself. but yes you need to take it easy for a while.

I haven't read through everything, but I have skimmed through.

I think it would be wise for you to lay off of all leg workouts, including running, and even walking for about a week and then ease back into it slowly by walking, and then adding a little at a time.

Be very careful, I kept trying to run every week while I was injured and kept irritating the pain. I finally after 3 months had to go to a sports doctor and he made me do nothing for 3 weeks, as well as go to a physical therapist, who had me doing all kinds of stretches and strengthening because I was tight and my muscles were not evenly strengthened.

I have some other threads around here somewhere about that time (it was a groin pull)

You may end up having to see a doctor, but rest, rest, rest is going to be your friend.

I will say, that if you do take care of it, the possibility of running again is almost for sure, but if you don't take care of it you will be lowering those possibilities.

That area's been hurting me too, lately. With the leg press & the leg extension on the nautilus machines, I overdid it. For now, I'm just going to take a break - 1 week, maybe 2 - from intense leg things. I plan on resting and then hitting those low-impact ellipticals that I love so much, and if THAT hurts, I'll see a doctor. If you're really worried, you should too. Sure, they're idiots sometimes, and other times they can't do a damn thing, but they're there to help.

Good luck!!

the 6% incline seems way too much to me. 1% will simulate 'road' conditions.

Give yourself a week to recover and then if it feels OK I would do the walking on the treadmill at a 1% incline. Get used to this at walking pace and then throw in some short (1-3 mins) of slightly faster (harder walking pace) and then back for few minutes at walking pace.

You don't have to rush into the running.

Tim is so right ....

Good Luck - injuries SUCK!!!!!!!

Spyke, I think you better rest instead of pushing yourself to run. Listen to Dave and the rest of the folks posted.

I love running also. Once I have hurt myself becuase I was not used to running. My hip joints and knee were hurting so much that I have to move slowly when walking. I felt pain on the muscle along my waist also. That was the time that I have just joined a marathon training program. I did R.I.C.E as suggested by many runners. After I felt better in 1 or 2 days, I ran again. Then, the pain came back. I R.I.C.E again for a few days. As soon as I felt less pain, I ran. Then the pain came back. I was very mad and disappointed. I was worrying that I could not run anymore. Later on, I decided to listen to my runner friends. I stopped training for ~2 weeks. Then, I restarted the training all over again.

You rather not able to run for a few weeks than the rest of your life.

In a week or so, if the pain does not go away. I suggest you to see a doctor to make sure everything is ok.

Hehe - if there's one thing that comes through loud and clear in this thread it's that I should rest!

So... resting. I didn't go to the gym today. I'm sitting here drumming my fingers on the table and not going to the gym.

Yup, actively not going to the gym.

Gawd I wanna go to the gym lol

I think I'm going to be fine. I'm taking the "rest" advice seriously and take it easy for a few days. I want to be able to run so I'll take it slow.

Thanks everyone for your help!

Good for you - but go to the gym if you want to, just do upper body! I go to the gym three days a week and sometimes never do anything with my legs depending on where I am with my training for running.

Spyke...Your max heart rate is 184... 220- your age (36)=184 And workouts should range between 65% and 80% which is 120 -150 range slow down a bit my freind, Take 4 or 5 days off and come back with a vengance but at a slower rate. Remeber we are croc pots not microwaves. The slower we lose it the better we are.

glad to see you're taking the advice to rest spike. as a former member of the 300 lb club, i can tell you that fat guy legs do not like running in the beginning. for me it was my feet. stress fracture, tendonitis, you name it. just rest it & work on the upper body & your core. your core will really help your running. once you're healed, jump back in slowly. believe me. it will pay off. i ran my first marathon in 2006, a half last year when i put a few lbs back on & now i'm shooting for another half & possible another whole marathon this year. running will shed the pounds, but you have to make sure you keep up the resistance training or you'll end up losing muscle like i did & then BAM the weight sneaks back in. good luck dude.

I'm with Tim. Don't break the habit of going to the gym. That'll wind up biting you in the butt if you aren't careful. Go do arms, abs, back. You can even get some cardio in with arm work outs. Sure it's not as effective as running, but it'll keep you in good habits.

NOW you tell me lol!

I wanted to kick-start the resting (my "natural" rest day is wednesday, I figured two rest days in a row was ok - I've never had two in a row before ) do I stayed home today and was MISERABLE. I hated every minute of it, ran around the house like a headless chicken!


Oh boy - now you know my secret lol
If we take my old friend the elliptical as an example, my heart rate is pretty stable at 163, even using the interval program.
When running the c25k week 1, I went from about 135 during the walking to 165 during the running - peaking at 170 for the last two intervals when I sprinted.
On a bike I can't get myself above 140-145 for the life of me - but then again, I haven't been doing real "spinning" yet... that's a next step.
Conclusion? The bike puts my heart rate where it's supposed to be, but... it doesn't feel like I'm DOING anything. I can hold a conversation no prob and it's BORING. On the other hand a sustained heart rate of 160 for 2x ½hour (elliptical and treadmill, add the bike to that on the weekends) and I feel ALIVE!

So... I'm doing it ALL wrong?????

I wouldnt say your doing it wrong..Just really stressing your body out. Work up to it man. Wrong would be sitting in front of the TV eating like a kid in a candy store then sitting down have dinner like a teen ager. Then more TV and bed. That would be wrong. Mysuggestion is to merly slow down a bit we are only talking a few BPMS.

Perfect! I have trouble getting up past 145 on the bike too, and don't even consider it much of a workout, except maybe a little endurance related.