Comments on Running Injury Free: Beginning Running

Thank you for nice tips! it really helped

2012-01-12T20:25:20.586-07:00

Thank you for nice tips! it really helped

I'm 76 and have been running for 39 years with...

2011-12-24T12:12:20.848-07:00

I'm 76 and have been running for 39 years with no knee problems. The secret, I think, it to do stretches to strengthen ones hips and knees, and to consider pain a sign that something is wrong such that you don't try to run through pain. Also, follow the 10% rule and the heavy/light rule. And, when your legs feel tired, stop running and walk the rest of the way. Tired legs are a sign that you're giving your legs a lot of stress, and they need you to reduce the stress.

I started running 10 months back.....at first I wa...

2011-12-24T11:36:22.781-07:00

I started running 10 months back.....at first I was just curious to see if I can indeed take a jog ( I am 39 now and played volleyball , table tennis and swam quite a lot but intermittently all these years . This is the first time I have started walking + jogging consistently -reason being I am taking a long sabbatical from work :). I stared initially with 1 km of walk and after 10 days started running 500-600 metres -the overall exercise being of 10-15 mins duration ......slowly I was committed to higher lap length and had a combination of 2km walk + 2 km jog .......as of now my combination is 2 km walk followed by 3-4 kms jog ......though i have never experienced breathlessness till date , I felt a little tiredness in the legs after say 2 kms of jog , but I usually did continue the whole distance 99% of the time and till date no injuries faced.....it has been 10 months now ....question is though I am comfortable with the body , some people say that the knees will breakdown in 5-10 years ...is it true for all joggers ....for me at least I intend to run till my 60's ...

Walking for a couple of minutes and then running f...

2011-11-01T13:22:21.229-06:00

Walking for a couple of minutes and then running for a few seconds is a good way to slowly mix running with your walking. Repeat a few times, as long as you don't experience any pain. Stop running as soon as pain reappears.

Knee problems are common among runners. Here page from running.about.com that discusses Runner's Knee. Also, check out the links on that page.

Be sure you stretch every day for your knees, hips, ITband. The left sidebar gives links to all of my pages. The 11th link is to a page of pictures of the stretches I do. When you stretch, be very gentle so you don't cause more damage.

Don't do any more running until you can do so without pain. When you do start running again, only run for a short distance and then go back to walking. You said that walking didn't hurt your knees but running did. So, confine your running to a very short distance, but only do that if you can do it without pain.

If your knees continue hurting when you don't do any running, I would suggest a visit to your doctor.

Another possibility is your shoes. Be sure you have good running shoes. There are three kinds of shoes (neutral, correction, motion control) and you want to be sure you have the correct type. If you get new shoes, get them from a running store where the clerk will watch you walk and analyze your gait. Stay away from the mall-type shoe stores.

I went for a run for the first time yesterday (aft...

2011-11-01T12:26:43.011-06:00

I went for a run for the first time yesterday (after walking for months). I started off walking, then running and repeated this pattern, ending with walking. Each step while running, not walking, hurt my knees. Additionally, my knees continue to hurt today (day after) when standing after sitting.

Does anyone have suggestions on what might be causing the knee pain? I'm trying to decide if I should keep running, meaning it's just beginer's pain, or if I should see a doctor to avoid a major injury

Yes it does get a bit disheartening when questions...

2011-01-23T07:11:54.417-07:00

Yes it does get a bit disheartening when questions are not answered on blogs. -Regards-Tom

Good advice. I have been walking in my garden and ...

2010-08-22T14:35:39.880-06:00

Good advice. I have been walking in my garden and I'm really enjoying it - have a long garden! Don't enjoy the running as much - but each to their own.

Hi Mary, Your body is indeed signaling that your ...

2010-08-10T12:20:40.173-06:00

Hi Mary,

Your body is indeed signaling that your legs can't take any more stress. You are to be complimented for picking up on that signal. It's good that you aren't huffing and puffing. This means that your body can handle the distance and pace that you're using. So, your immediate goal is to strengthen your legs. Your legs will get stronger as you continue to run. Be sure that you stretch after you run and perhaps before, too.

Jeff Galloway, a former world-class runner and now trainer, gives the following suggestion (I'm using his suggestion and it really works). Run for 30 seconds (for me that is 45 left-foot steps) and walk for 30 seconds (for me, 33 left-foot steps). Keep alternating the two until you finish your run. The idea behind this is that before your legs reach the point where they give out, you stop and walk to rest your legs. Some people will run for a minute and then walk for a minute. You might experiment to find the ratio of running and walking that works for you, e.g. run for 30 seconds, walk for a minute, etc.

Walking is a natural and valid part of running, so don't be embarrassed that you mix walking with your running.

I've just started running, and my biggest prob...

2010-08-10T12:03:24.541-06:00

I've just started running, and my biggest problem is that perhaps a quarter of the way around the track my legs begin to feel incredibly heavy and I have to stop running and walk instead. My muscles don't hurt and I'm not out of breath, but it's like my body is signaling I can't pick up my legs any more. Perhaps this is cause I'm new to running and it'll pass after some weeks. Any suggestions?

Thanks, krg, for finding places where my wording w...

2010-03-03T16:42:08.061-07:00

Thanks, krg, for finding places where my wording wasn't clear. I think I've fixed them. When you have a minute, read the article and let me know if you still think my wording is confusing.

Runners usually talk about pace rather than speed, because the larger numbers used in changes in pace (time/distance) are easier to comprehend and work with than the smaller numbers in changes in speed (distance/time).

It is common to refer to a faster pace or a slower pace, even though they are referring to a faster speed and a slower speed. As you pointed out, it is confusing to talk about increasing or decreasing pace, and I searched the article for the word "pace" to be sure I was talking about a faster or slower pace but not a larger or smaller pace.

Thanks for the advice; I'll certainly use many...

2010-03-03T14:38:55.847-07:00

Thanks for the advice; I'll certainly use many of these tips.

There's one point, though, that I think is very confusing and could use improvement. It doesn't make much sense to tell novice runners not to worry about how fast they run because "walkers and runners usually don't talk about speed" but talk about "pace" instead. Speed, you say, is the amount of distance covered in a given time (true). "Pace", on the other hand, is the amount of time it takes to cover a particular distance. This just amounts to the reciprocal of speed, though. So clearly if we quote a given pace, we can always flip it over and think of it as speed.

You then counsel joggers who are interested in adding in some running to their walking programs, saying "you want to increase your pace". This is incorrect. Such people are interested in increasing their average speed, which means decreasing pace. A fast runner has a low pace, by your definition.

This was the first site that I encountered and I f...

2009-12-30T07:44:23.218-07:00

This was the first site that I encountered and I find it very informitive. It answers several questions a begining runner should ask but may have not thought of asking.

This site sucks. You dont answer anything. Reader...

2009-09-07T21:16:52.549-06:00

This site sucks. You dont answer anything. Readers should go to a site that knows what they are talking about, try personalrunningtrainer.com

This site blows monkey chunks!

ditto to the previous post - appreciate the info!

2009-08-19T11:31:42.712-06:00

ditto to the previous post - appreciate the info!

Excellent post! Thanks for the tips.

2009-06-16T15:14:26.795-06:00

Excellent post! Thanks for the tips.

experiment and listen to your body- great advice. ...

2009-01-26T04:58:00.000-07:00

experiment and listen to your body- great advice. the best. because individuals vary too much. thx