Hi

I turned 40 july 1st and like a lot of people my age decided to take up jogging to get fit .
I got me self a pair of rebooks , shorts , tops etc and set off on me first run on the 26th june , went round the block which is about 1 1/2 miles and felt awfull ,lol .

Did the same run tuesday upped it to 3 miles wednesday , 4 on Thursday and friday , then 7 on saturday .

As many of you can guess i now have really bad knee pain and cant walk down the stairs . I didnt realise you had to stretch or warm up and also warm down . Ive borrowed a bibrating heat pad and have been doing 30 mins leg stretching a day since saturday and the pain seems to be easing a little .

Does anyone else have any suggestions for me .

Many thanks Rob .

P.S , i live in the beautifull town of Rochester and would dearly love to continue running through its dickensian tyoe streets and parks

Hi there!

Im no expert and have only been running about 4 months myself but you've clearly done too much too soon!

From what I've read and heard stretching afterward is supposed to be more important than streching before hand - something about your muscles being cold before you start running and therefore stretching too much before you run may actually do more harm than good.

Warming down is important too - so make sure you walk for about 10mins after your run.

You've increased your distance massively in such a short space of time. I believe the guideline is to increase your time/distance by only 10% each week, otherwise you're asking for an injury!

Keep resting that knee and try again when you're fully recovered!

I`m a few years older than you,and have been running 18 months.I also started with just over a mile around the block,and it took me about 6 months to get to seven miles.so,be patient and it will come easier.But at our age it will always hurt a bit.

Cheers for the response .

The knee is healing slowly but surley .ive taken to swimming for the short term and doing 30 mins light stretching exercise everyday , coupled with some heat packs and an activa support .

Every one ive spoken to has said that i went to long to soon and like your good selves have told me to clam it down as im not 20 years old but 40 , and as my friend said " you dont mend as quick when your older " SIGH !!!

your body has to become conditioned to running and that includes the progressive thickening of the knee cartilage. The knee takes most of the stress when you run.
I think that you have learnt the first painful lesson of running, build up really slowly

You must build up slowly. I took up running in my 40's and have now done 3 London Marathons. I got laods of injuries on the way there, but thankfully none serious. Don't try and run every day. :eek: Keep up with teh running when you are injury free!

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Hi
Ive just registered on the runners forum as i am keen to run, but not very good at it. I to began running at a fast pace like yourself and ended up with shin splints. Ive been out running tonight for the first time in six weeks and only ran round the block three times probably about a mile all told. My leg feels ok although i have slight discomfort. Now Im going to take things really slowly. With running you have to be careful not to do too much too soon. Especially at our age. Im 42.
Keep at it I say and i hope your pain dissappears soon.

I am new to this site and not sure if I doing this correctly. (Quote / Quick ????)

Take it easy and build up slow is great advise, I started running about 8 months after an operation on a knee. All was great until my first fun run (8.5 miles and not much fun). I had not trained for the run, did not warm-up or stretch and paid the price. Could not walk for two weeks after and still need to use a strong support.

Please don't make the same mistake I made, find a beginners prog.