Hip twinge😐: Hi there, I am consolidating 5K... - Bridge to 10K

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Hip twinge😐

aberlady profile image
33 Replies

Hi there,

I am consolidating 5K runs just now. Was keen to get time down so tried to lengthen my stride. ( I’m just over 5/2 so don’t have long legs😬). Was successful shaving 3 mins off my best time but think I overdid it.

Later that day I began to feel slight pain in left hip which I’ve never experienced before. Had a rest day yesterday and wasn’t really aware of any discomfort. This morning ran a very slow 3K to see how it felt.

It’s definitely tender again😐

I’m going to have a couple of rest days ( been running every second day).

Does anyone have any good exercises/ advice for stretching out hip muscles. I’m 52 so not a young thing 😉

Thanks 😊

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aberlady profile image
aberlady
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33 Replies
Instructor57 profile image
Instructor57Graduate10

Consolidation is not for increasing speed !It's for bedding in what you did on week 9 of C25k so you become comfortable at whatever that pace was .

Also perhaps not a good idea to increase your stride length .

Again, especially at this stage !

This could cause you a less than optimal foot Fall which could lead to many problems.

As far as hip excercises are concerned , search for James Dunne on youtube.

Good luck , 👍

aberlady profile image
aberlady in reply to Instructor57

Thanks Instructor57. I agree it was silly of me to try and decrease the speed - don’t know what got into me. I am just loving it so much but I have learned my lesson.

I will look up James Dunne.

I appreciate your advice.

Instructor57 profile image
Instructor57Graduate10 in reply to aberlady

I get it !I think we have all been guilty of it at some stage , good luck , be kind to yourself and recover 👍

aberlady profile image
aberlady in reply to Instructor57

I have looked up James Dunne - great resource😊

Instructor57 profile image
Instructor57Graduate10 in reply to aberlady

Good, there are a lot of people here who use James dunne !He was also recommended by my sports physio who is an extreme marathon runner ! 😁

SueAppleRun profile image
SueAppleRunGraduate1060minGraduate

Just what Instructor said and keep slow, slow is more beneficial in the long run, I did Japanese slow running and when i wanted a burst of faster just made my legs move faster keeping the stride short until i could move them no faster so the stride lengthened a little but never over stride as that way goes injury

aberlady profile image
aberlady in reply to SueAppleRun

Thank you WillowandSola. Think I had a mad turn and was just determined to run under 40 mins!

I have so learned my lesson and will not be such an idiot again.

You would think at 52 I would have more sense 🙄🙄🙄

SueAppleRun profile image
SueAppleRunGraduate1060minGraduate in reply to aberlady

I pulled a calf muscle soon after graduating because I just wanted to keep running one day, i got to 6k it took me an hour and I limped home and you’d have thought i’d have had more sense at 64 lol

aberlady profile image
aberlady in reply to SueAppleRun

I’m so glad it’s just not me 🤣🤣🤣One of my colleagues was telling me he has just finished couch to 5k and he runs 5K under 30 mins. He laughed a bit when I said I was over 40 mins.

He’s 6 ft 5, skinny and 10 years younger than me. Don’t know why I’m trying to compete 🤪🤪🤪

SueAppleRun profile image
SueAppleRunGraduate1060minGraduate in reply to aberlady

Oh no point in competing with tall skinny young things, Ive not quite managed sub 40 mins, i did one 5k in 41 min 44 seconds once but never again, usually between 43 and 46 unless over the downs which is slower, our first 5k took 52 minutes and we were so proud Just keep it steady and you will avoid the injury couch it’s not a fun place to be

mattconway1984 profile image
mattconway1984 in reply to aberlady

Unless you're a professional, or a very serious amateur athlete, there's no point competing with anyone but yourself. What other people can or can't run must be irrelavant to any of your personal goals; my 5k pb is a shade under 25mins (4m54s per km), whilst I have running friends that run at a regular training pace around 4m30s and whose 5k PBs are well inside 20mins; I'm one of the slower ones in my friendship group, but I don't let that affect my goals, it just makes for good banter!

PS.... Good luck overcoming your injury, I hate injuries!

CBDB profile image
CBDBGraduate10

Oh nooooh. Hope you can get of the injury couch soon.

In case you might not be aware, there is a sister forum on HU called Strength and Flexibility, as specifically when you increase your running beyond C25k, there is often a need to work on strengthening and improving flexibility, as well as focusing on areas that might be weaker. (For me, it’s my knees and I regularly do workouts focussing on knees)

We do a daily Yoga and have workout challenges, so please feel welcomed to join us.

See you over at healthunlocked.com/strength...

aberlady profile image
aberlady in reply to CBDB

Thank you CBDB. I will take a look at that programme. Probably just what I need. I don’t think I’ve done myself any serious damage - just a twinge but it has given me a fright. I’ve never been a runner and I’m loving it - don’t want to risk any injury.

I think i associate hip pain with being old and that’s not a great feeling 😟

Woollyweaver profile image
WoollyweaverGraduate10

So sorry to hear about your hip twinge aberlady lots of good advice here. Do take care of your body and listen carefully to any niggles. I can so identify with that exhilaration as a newbie runner - I was in a similar position a year ago... until I ended up spending an inordinate amount of time on the IC paying for that early enthusiasm 😑. "Too much too soon" was how my physio described it 🙄, and then threw in the M word for good measure! Like you I am in my 50s...if you need a a sober reminder of why we need to look after ourselves, take a look at this:

sports-injury-physio.com/po...

Apparently our bodies don't repair from the stresses of exercise so well when our hormone levels drop. I have been assured that we do get through this phase, we just need to be sensible and do those extra strengthening exercises. Ha! That is the hardest lesson to learn 😅

Hopefully your niggle is just that and you will be back out there very, very soon. But don't forget to include plenty of strengthening exercises on you non- running days.

Oh, and lots of us on this forum are 'slow', whatever that means? I like to call it leisurely 😀. And a slow run is always better than no run 🤗

aberlady profile image
aberlady in reply to Woollyweaver

Many thanks for taking the time to reply. That was really informative and sobering 🤣Will definitely have a look at your clip🤣

The joys of being middle aged 🙄

Woollyweaver profile image
WoollyweaverGraduate10

😱 noooo! Not middle aged 😵‍💫. I implicitly believe every word that my Garmin tells me - that my fitness age is 20 💪🤸🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️🤣...just learning to be a 20 year old with a sensible head on my shoulders 🤪.

aberlady profile image
aberlady in reply to Woollyweaver

🤣🤣🤣

Comfortnotspeed profile image
ComfortnotspeedGraduate10

Have you tried yoga? So good for hip openers and all about being kind to our bodies.

aberlady profile image
aberlady in reply to Comfortnotspeed

I’ve never really been into it but if it helps my running might consider 😊

Lizcanrun profile image
LizcanrunGraduate10

Hello Aberlady, my hip was hurting because of my calves! Do you stretch them?

aberlady profile image
aberlady in reply to Lizcanrun

Hi Lizcanrun, I always stretch after a run but don’t before. Been given a good tip about James Dunne so will definitely do more before.

Today I tried a very slow 3K to test my hip and calves were definitely tight too so will keep an eye on that.

Hadn’t noticed link before.

I’ve been given a warning to not overdo things at such an early stage and will take it👍

Many thanks 🙏

Cowladyrunning profile image
CowladyrunningGraduate10

Oh no! You have had great advice on here. I learnt my lesson after my half marathon so now have set myself challenges for strength training! I've used yoga, the strength and flex group on here and various YouTube strength training focused on hips! Good luck!

aberlady profile image
aberlady in reply to Cowladyrunning

Thank you 😊

Newbie59 profile image
Newbie59

Exactly one year after starting C25k I have had to stop running because of hip pain, which my GP thinks is Trochanter Pain Syndrome. Apparently one in four older women who run are likely to suffer from this at some point. If you google it you will find exercises to strengthen the hip, which mostly are the exercises recommended for runners in any case.

I graduated in June and since then I was able to run twice a week for 30-35 minutes with no problems and I was really enjoying it. In February I signed up to a 10k in June and started the JuJu Magic Plan with the aim to run for 60 minutes and then build on speed. Also, I started to do Speed interval runs and I think that this is what did the damage. When I was told to run as fast as I could I really went for it! The pain started when I extended my run time to get to 6k and it is taking some time to recover from.

I hope your hip gets better quickly :)

aberlady profile image
aberlady in reply to Newbie59

Thank you that was really helpful. Will look it up 😊

Rowers profile image
RowersGraduate10

Hi, I'm 48, menopausal, but already a bit stronger and more flexible having started yoga in January. I have problems all the way down my left side (mostly my foot but also in hip/lower back as one side of my back is bigger than the other). What everyone else has said is great. Just saying hi from another lady of a certain age!!

aberlady profile image
aberlady in reply to Rowers

Hi Rowers, I think I will really consider taking up yoga. I’m a teacher so permanently stressed anyway... 😬

Notobleeptests profile image
Notobleeptests

Easily done, especially for we 50-somethings who seem to be prone to hip niggles - and especially if we have sedentary roles!

There’s something to be said for slightly increasing cadence rather than stride length, along with hip (gentle!) stretches, strengthening and rollering buttocks, ITB etc.

aberlady profile image
aberlady in reply to Notobleeptests

Thank you !! Yip will definitely need to take more care with stretches and strengthening😊

BuilderBoysMum profile image
BuilderBoysMum

Thank you for asking this question. I am identifying fully with your situation, being a new graduate of a certain age. Also the hip niggles were becoming a feature for me, not helped by having been in a car accident last year. I found that having two rest days between runs really helped the hip pain to ease, as well as Epsom salts in my post-run bath, and some stretching. Hope to hear you recover soon.

aberlady profile image
aberlady

Thank you!! I was running every second day which was too much I think. Will pick up the Epsom Salts👍

Peter44 profile image
Peter44Graduate10 in reply to aberlady

Sounds like you've overdone it a bit, but we've all been there, but probably learn the hard way! 🤷‍♂️🤣 i would say, rest for a few days, forget about trying to get faster, 40/45 mins is fine for a 5k, like others have said, defo take things slowly, you've obviously caught the 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️ bug, and it's very frustrating being on the IC.

aberlady profile image
aberlady in reply to Peter44

Hi Peter, yes I’ve learned my lesson😬. Intend to rest for a few days and then slowly build back up and ignore the time! I’m not really aware of it today and resting again tomorrow so hopefully on the mend 🤞

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