New to running - sore knees & ankles!

[purplemel]

Hi everyone I have just completed wk 1 as of yesterday. Trying to get fit and tone up following the birth of my 2nd child 7 months ago and have been doing a lot of walking past few months. Anyhow fitness wise I managed wk 1 ok, slow but steady, but my knee joints and back of heels really hurt! Knees hurt while running yesterday, just below kneecap, they still don't feel great this morning and hurt if going up or down stairs. Heels felt sore and tight after running tho generally feel ok this morning. So do I go ahead with wk 2 tomorrow or am I risking full on injury? I'm not sure whether it's just a case of needing to strengthen the joints or if there's actually something wrong? I was exercising prior to pregnancy in gym including a bit of treadmill but have never been a runner. Any advice welcome thanks!

[misswobble Graduate]

If you are new to exercise you can expect to ache until your body gets accustomed to the new level of exertion. Walking is really good so carry on with that. Walking, cyling, swimming and any gym or dance based exercises are good to do to improve your overall strength and fitness to support your running

You need to jog nice and slowly, no need for speed. Have an extra rest day if you need to

[slowmover Graduate]

Make sure you rest up for one or two days between runs. I had terrible knee pain for the first weeks but I rested up and did lots of stretches after each run and my knees stopped hurting. Touchwood, I've had no knee pain since x

[useitorloseit Graduate in reply to slowmover]

I definitely agree. I had knee trouble in the early weeks, and taking 2 days off between runs really helped. I also used tubigrip style knee bandages (from Sports Direct, but you can get similar in chemists etc). Some people say this is counter productive as it supports your knees instead of the legs getting stronger to support them, but I personally found them very helpful and it meant I could keep running and my knees eventually got stronger. I don't need them now.

[stephb81]

I felt exactly the same way as you do. Take an extra rest day and maybe slow down a little on your next run. Slow but steady is the key, you can get faster as you get fitter. Good luck. xx

[Bekib10 Graduate]

Be careful with those knees. I too started this program when my youngest was just under 7 months I think. My knees started hurting in week 1. I figured they just needed strengthening, so struggled on. I completed week 3, just, but was in a lot of pain from my knees and they also now hurt when I walked. So I ended up taking a 3 week break for them to recover (they were better after 2 weeks but then I went to the U.S. for a week). In this time I bought some 'proper' running trainers. I started back redoing W2R3 and continued from there with no problems (my next run is W6R3). So for me the proper running shoes are worth their weight in gold! I had done gym work and the occasional little run on the treadmill before having children with no issues with knees, so I do wonder if the lose ligaments or the widening of the hips has anything to do with it?? So don't do what I did and run with the pain, take extra rest days if you need them and get some good running shoes, and good luck!!

[purplemel]

Thank u everyone for the great advice. Speed is def not the issue - I cldnt go much slower - I'm averaging just over 9 min/km over the whole time so around the same as a fast walk overall! Bekib10 that's a very good point about loose ligaments post birth, I know it can take up to a yr to get back to normal. I also def need proper running shoes so need to invest there I think. Just frustrating as I psyched myself up for wks for this n I guess it'll take longer than a wk now to complete each stage if I factor in more rest days, but hey at least I'm exercising, maybe try for twice a wk n the other day try cycling or walking to ease off on the joints? It will just take longer but I am determined to get there!

[GoogleMe Graduate in reply to purplemel]

Here I come with my story of taking 6 weeks to get through Week 1 but never having to do a single extra session of C25K after that. It's not linear!

You might find your joints like a softer surface better if you can find one.

(I run at your speed more than 3 years post graduating so I think you're going pretty fast right now)

[purplemel in reply to GoogleMe]

Thanks for ur reply in a way it's quite nice to know I'm not going all that slow after all! Went for a walk today n joints don't feel too bad so maybe I just need to ease into it n find my own pace. I may try n run on grass where possible at least for part of the run.