Starting all over again

4 watchers

WA Nov 2020 10:46am, 20 Nov 2020 7,821 posts	0 WA I used to run a lot. I also used to get injured a lot. I miss running- I stopped completely before lockdown 1 because of knee pain. I'd like to start again but am worried about injury. Did 2 miles on Tuesday and it was fine, but I am cautious about too much too soon etc. What approaches/ plans have others in a similar position used successfully to build back up? Ideally I'd like to get back to marathon distance at some point. Thank you
Windsor Wool Nov 2020 10:51am, 20 Nov 2020 4,893 posts	0 Windsor Wool WA - are you on Strava? If you are then take a look at Aly Dixon's feed, there is a great example of extreme patience in building back up from an elite athlete. We could all learn a lot from her approach. If not, she has basically maintained her aerobic fitness with cycling and then come back to running by mixing walking / running. The idea of an athlete like her having the patience to go out and do 10*2 mins of jogging off 2 mins walk is mind-boggling to me, I've never been that patient!
Derby Tup Nov 2020 11:13am, 20 Nov 2020 47,768 posts	0 Derby Tup Walk run. Going for a walk in kit you can run in and jog bits works for me. I usually walk at around 3mph (it’s hilly here - very similar to your area WA) and aim for 4mph when rehabbing Maybe consider Couch to 5K or a Race for life program? Good luck and keep us posted
swittle Nov 2020 1:18pm, 20 Nov 2020 69,977 posts	0 swittle Another vote for C25K. Physio-prescribed exercises got the arthritic knee onside and the gently increased duration of sessions, measured in seconds to start off, suited me well. A 15-min. walk to & from the beach gave a useful warm up. However, shortage of stamina found me struggling when running 15 min. plus for the first time. No more Streaking for me: alternate days work well...altho' I'm hors de combat atm with a stretched hammy.
Ultracat Nov 2020 1:22pm, 20 Nov 2020 13,236 posts	0 Ultracat Build up slowly, don’t compare your running now with what you did in the past. Listen to your body.
um Nov 2020 1:55pm, 20 Nov 2020 3,699 posts	0 um WA - do you know what the knee pain was? eg meniscal tear, arthritic, ligament? That may make a difference to starting up again. How are you on stairs? Meniscal tear & ligaments should improve over time & with gentle take up & extending (eg run/walk, cycling if OK etc) A mix of turmeric and glucosamine may help long term - but they seem to take a few months to kick in. I haven't seen any bad effects of taking them? I've found pre run deep heat and post run hot bath soaks & voltarol work for my knee. But I suppose you need to listen to what your knee is telling you. Some 'grumbling' is expected, but you should decide whether its a grumble that can be ignored or will go away, or something more serious (unlikely). not a doctor
WA Nov 2020 8:57am, 21 Nov 2020 7,824 posts	0 WA Thanks all. I've downloaded C25K to my training page I'm not sure what the knee pain was. Now I'm fine on stairs, at the time it was very painful, felt twisted inside. I was planning to see a physio, but lickdown happened, I started walking instead and after a while it settled down. I am worried that it might be arthritis but don't have any basis for that other than paranoia. First session of the plan booked in for today.
Derby Tup Nov 2020 8:59am, 21 Nov 2020 47,801 posts	0 Derby Tup Good luck and hope you enjoy it
swittle Nov 2020 9:00am, 21 Nov 2020 70,013 posts	0 swittle ^ +1 to that
Rosehip Nov 2020 10:08am, 21 Nov 2020 18,616 posts	0 Rosehip agree that C25K is a great way to get back best of luck, WA keep us posted