Upper thigh and groin pain/how long does it take to lose fitness?

[DiogoC]

So, despite several warnings on here, I overdid it and went too far/too fast.

I also walked A LOT, averaging about 10k a day in addition to the runs I was doing during my consolidation period (3 times a week). And I swim too.

I now have discomfort on my upper thigh/groin area when I walk. I read that this pain is common with runners, but it should also make raising your knee or moving your leg from side to side uncomfortable, which for me it doesn't. It's only when walking/I put the affected foot down. Standing stationary is fine. If I walk long enough, I stop noticing it, but this is obviously not ideal.

I've decided to take a break from my consolidation runs until it heals, but considering I was on week 3 of my consolidation runs (ie not that long after finishing Couch to 5k), how long can I take a break from running before I lose my fitness?

Also, in the interest of preventing further injury, is running twice a week enough to keep the fitness and grow/get faster? I'm really mostly a swimmer and only took up running to diversify my workouts and eventually give triathlon a go, so I'm wondering if I might be doing too much (for reference, I was swimming and running 3 days a week with one long walk on my "rest days". Now that the weather is nicer, I'm swimming more often and cycling more to get to far off swimming places).

Thanks

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Three runs per week complying with the 10% rule is probably optimal for development but two runs per week should maintain your current level.

As stated in the guide to the plan, a recreational runner loses no significant condition in the first two weeks of non running. After that loss of condition is gradual.

All any of us can do after a lay off is to go out for a gentle run and see what we can comfortably manage, then use C25k or something similar to rebuild stamina and resistance to injury.

Doing too much too soon is the commonest cause of injuries for new runners.

Take it easy.

[DiogoC Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll take some time off and see what I can do when I feel ready to return. Now I know not to push myself.

[Couchpotato2 Graduate in reply to DiogoC]

What Ian says and you could also combine running then cycle to warm down and then have complete days off. It's really about finding what works for you but you know what doesnt now! We all make mistakes and learn from them. For now, rest is best!You could try a relaxing psoas pose for 10'. It's basically lie on the floor with your legs at 90% resting on a bed / sofa. I am always surprised how effective it is at relaxing a lot around the hips, plus it's just lying down which is easy

[UnfitNoMore Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

Well… at least you waited until you graduated before over doing it… I was superhuman in week 3 and paid the price 🤣

It took many of us years to maximise our unfitness levels, and as you’ve seen it only takes a couple of months to undo that work. So, we don’t know how long before you’re healed, but we do know you’ll then be back, a wiser new runner, and worst case scenario you have to take on the whole plan again… but this time you would know you can beat it!

Hopefully it’ll be OK in a few days and you’ll lose such a small amount of fitness that you won’t notice.

Good to see you post this and not just sit out quietly… new graduates and even new starters can now read and learn in advance.

Hope to see you out there soon, but not before you’re 100%

[nowster Graduate]

About this time last year I had a pulling feeling in my right groin area any time I did a run longer than about 15 minutes. It followed a run where I'd overdone things a little and my left leg had seized up three quarters of the way into a 20km run.

I booked a physio appointment. I thought I might have had a hernia. It actually turned out that my hamstring muscles and glutes were tight (from having a desk job) and I was over-exerting an adductor muscle in compensation. I was given a thorough going over with massaging, some exercises to do (which I incorporated into my warm-up routine) and told to get a cheap foam roller.

It took about a month to recover. I didn't have to stop running but I didn't try to do any longer distances until September.

If your problem persists, I'd strongly recommend visiting a physio. It might not be what you think it is.

[DiogoC Graduate in reply to nowster]

thanks. i have referred myself to physio. not just because of this, but also because it's not the first time i've injured myself, so i want a proper opinion on how to manage things.

[Devon_straggler Graduate in reply to DiogoC]

That sounds like the most sensible advice. I also had some time out of running due to groin and thigh problems and the physio gave me a lot of strengthening exercises as I was overcompensating with some muscles due to weakness in others. Although generally strengthening exercises are a good idea, without seeing a physio you won't know whether they're the most beneficial ones for you or not.