Week 3 run 1 Knee ok sort of!

[Lundgrp]

If anyone is put off jogging because they have knee arthritis/ weight issues/long term injury and think that trying to run will make things worse .... well that was me. I have had several knee operations in the last 25 years and although I can walk/cycle a long way I thought my running days were over due to weight gain and the surgery. I was worried about doing C25K because of my joints, and running 60s was hard at first but after 3 weeks following the program my aches in my knees have gone away!! I am careful not to overdo it but I honestly think a bit of stress on my joints has made them stronger.

[LPW21]

Hi, I've had to stop into week 2 as I think I got a bit carried away in the 1st week and I was doing this app then going for a 5 mile walk in the same day. I went to zero miles one week to 21 miles the following week.

My knees did not like it, hence walking like I've pooed myself now but I've woken up this morning after resting them for 5 days and they have stopped hurting. Omg I'm so pleased.

I am worried about starting again but reading your comment has made me feel a bit at ease.

Do you wear any kind of support on your knees now though? I don't want to bugger them up again x

[annasee Graduate in reply to LPW21]

I would say you've had a warning! I've occasionally had a niggly knee, started by running too fast, I think. I would say just follow the programme, walk only on your rest days and only a reasonable amount. Sometimes I wore a knee brace but it was a bit annoying tbh. Though it did give support and reassurance. There are strengthening exercises available on YouTube, maybe have a look at those, but again, don't get carried away. Gentle exercise, gradually increased is the way to avoid injury. Stop if you get any pain that doesn't go away in a few minutes.

[Lundgrp in reply to LPW21]

I sometimes wear a knee elastic support, I am dubious whether they actually help your muscles or just give you mental confidence that they make a difference. To be honest I think doing without them is going to help strengthening the muscles. What I would do is build up gradually the distance and not worry about the time.

[Equi-geek Graduate]

Me too! I have osteoarthritis in my hip from a horse riding injury and dodgy knees from being obese - that still sound like they are full of Rice Krispies. My other half used to run marathons until he smashed his left kneecap in a motorcycle accident the early 80's and he kept running until very recently. We have a shepherd dog so I was conditioned to brisk walking for an hour a day even though my hip hurt. But I always hated running and I believed that I shouldn't run because of the potential damage to my joints. I'd gone twice with my other half in the mid-90's. He left me for dust, then waited for me to catch up with him - huffing and puffing and wanting to die - unable to shout loud enough for him to just wait a bit - as he trotted off before I could catch up with him. Hated it! I did a Race for Life while I was briefly 5st lighter than I am now. Hated it! I also can't stand all the crappy, lazy, 'news', which is basically fat-shaming everyone that has a high BMI on almost a daily basis (there's yet another 'news' story on today - about obese kids), and some NHS hospitals refusing to do joint replacements on overweight patients. Add Hugh Fearnly Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver into the mix - and it's enough to make anyone turn to cake and pizza out of spite.

Then I watched Angela Rippon on one of those Truth or Myth programmes, and how the evidence now points towards running actually helping joints if you are careful. My joints were shot to pieces anyway, I owned a pair of trainers, and it was free, so I had nothing to lose. To my mind, I'd do 'that feckin C25K programme' and it would be kill or cure. If I completely wrecked my joints at least I could prove I'd tried, and they'd replace them, rather than making me live in pain for another 10 years until I 'qualified' for a replacement. If it didn't wreck my joints, then great.

So here I am, on the day I do W3R2 and I am actually looking forward to it. I've not yet had to repeat a run and I have been careful how I place my landing foot. I've followed Michael Johnson's advice during the app, and I am actually feeling better about the whole thing. My joints feel better than they used to! The muscles around my hip are starting to support the joint a bit more, I think. I swim front crawl to the point of being breathless for 30 mins 3x a week on non-running days and have one day off exercise a week. So I am very pleased with my aerobic recovery. The running is still hard work, and I am a slower runner than walker, but I am starting to understand why others enjoy it. For a fleeting moment, during the second 3 minutes on R1, I found myself smiling and having fun trotting along to my music (and maybe doing some groovy dance moves with the upper body when no-one was watching).