Sore hamstring

[Daisical]

Well I'm really proud of myself I've just done my third week 4 run. I never thought I would be able to run for 5 minutes non stop! I'm 58 and overweight and I'm enjoying my runs. Just one problem I have an aching hamstring does anyone suffer with this?

[OldPossum]

Well done - it's a great feeling as you progress through the weeks isn't it?😀 I've had other muscle pain but not specifically hamstring. Do you stretch well after your run. This helps reduce the risk of muscle strains and injuries. There are stretching guidelines on the NHS website. The rest days are really important too to allow the muscles time to recover between runs.

[McFitty Graduate]

Are you warming up properly before you run? Running 'cold' can cause hamstring strain (not me being clever, I just Googled hamstring pain and it cited lack of warm up as an obvious reason). Do be careful and keep an eye on it, you don't want a minor niggle becoming a full blown injury. RICE too was given as a good practice if you have hamstring pain (rest, ice, compression, elevation). Congrats too on finishing week 4

[dddd4 Graduate]

You are well into the programme now. Well done. I found week 4 hard going but the next week went better. Maybe try stretching gently after runs and a warm bath helps. I try to consciously relax different muscles on the five min walk at the end too. You might find running a bit slower helps so your body isn't pushing so much. I found having extra rest days helps too.

[melly4012 Graduate]

Well done for getting to the end of Week 4! Advice above is good, make sure you're warmed up and stretch after your run (you can google specific stretches for your hamstrings). I also stretch between the warm up walk and the running intervals which eased my calves a lot during the run.

So glad you're enjoying the programme. You really deserve to feel proud of yourself. Imagine how you'll feel when you're running for 30 minutes?!