Hello all, I'm another beginner to this running habit, having been following a run/walk (or is that 'walk/run'?!) programme for the past three weeks. I have been reading up on the subject and trying to take things slowly, as although I am a keen walker, I do not indulge in any other form of exercise, and I could benefit from losing a stone or so.

One thing which is causing some worry, even though I'm being careful to follow my programme (this week I've been running for a total of 14 minutes out of 30, and resting a day in between, so running/walking for thirty minutes on four days of each week, if that makes sense), and not going very fast and trying to stay on the flat, I have some pain in both sides of my ankle bone, on each ankle. I tend to feel this may not be an injury as such, since it is in both ankles, so wonder whether it is simply my body getting used to the impact, much as you get aching legs for a day or two after a big mountain walk, or maybe something wrong with my shoes (I've been using my Puma trainers which I had when I used to go to the gym, so have no idea if they are designed for runnng at all, but I didn't want to shell out until I knew whether I liked running or not, but I do!).

Basically, it hurts when I push my foot sideways either out or inwards, but running does not actually hurt.

Well I think I've waffled enough, hope someone can shed some light on this for me, and I look forward to many happy hours on the forum absorbing all the wisdom on here!

Bye for now,
Sally

Hi Sally

Welcome to the forum.
The most important thing with running is having the proper shoes. Standard trainers are not designed for running. Get yourself to a proper running shop ( NOT jjb sports or another sports store ) where the staff will more than likely be experienced runners who can give you advise on all aspects of running.
Take your puma trainers with you. They can tell which kind of shoe you require, there are different kinds for different styles of running ( Stability, motion control, extra cushion etc. ) They may also recommend a gait assessment to see if you pronate ( excessive foot roll ) which can cause all kinds of problems.

Let us know how you get on.

DTS

Hi Sally,

I'm at exactly the same point in my 'starting to run' life. Four weeks in - I'm now managing a run/walk of 5 minutes running followed by 1 minutes walking - 3 or 4 days per week. Also used to a lot of walking beforehand like you. I have a beautiful 2-year old golden retriever who comes with me.

I did buy new shoes in week 1 - had the gait assessment done (which is free in many of these good running shops) - and am definitely not looking back.

The best thing about running is all these 'feel good' hormones that go through my body afterwards. So much more energy.