The Official Thread for Runners

[woot]

It'd be really out of the ordinary to get a stress fracture without any previous pain. What you're describing is very likely just the onset of shin splints. I have no idea what your running schedule is like, but most often shin splints are a result of increased mileage or speed work. Reduction of these activities is the cure. People who get stress fractures tend to have been running with shin splint pain for some time.

Well good. I was having a bit of pain in my right knee, but my knees have been bad since high school so I was mostly just excited the left one felt fine. The tibial thing was hurting for a couple days and then two days ago hurt even walking around. I can still feel it but I'll probably rest again today and hope it feels better on a short run tomorrow.

And yeah I went from running zero to more than 20 miles a week, which is not a great idea. I tend to be quite binary like that with a lot of things.

[SteelBlue]

Well good. I was having a bit of pain in my right knee, but my knees have been bad since high school so I was mostly just excited the left one felt fine. The tibial thing was hurting for a couple days and then two days ago hurt even walking around. I can still feel it but I'll probably rest again today and hope it feels better on a short run tomorrow.

And yeah I went from running zero to more than 20 miles a week, which is not a great idea. I tend to be quite binary like that with a lot of things.

That bolded portion pretty much describes me too. I spent the first 3 years of my return to running being injured about every 12 weeks. As a result, I'm pretty familiar with the majority of running injuries, especially shin splints. If they're hurting just walking around you might be best served by taking a week off. If you get too impatient, you'll be looking at 6 weeks rest to get rid of that pain.

Some good rules to follow (I've learned to accept that these apply to me as much as I wanted to believe I was an exception) are not to increase your distance by more than 10%/week and not to run on consecutive days until you have a lot of miles under your belt. These are both very difficult because your heart/lungs start feeling really good with work levels that your legs can't yet handle.

[Pheidippides]

That bolded portion pretty much describes me too. I spent the first 3 years of my return to running being injured about every 12 weeks. As a result, I'm pretty familiar with the majority of running injuries, especially shin splints. If they're hurting just walking around you might be best served by taking a week off. If you get too impatient, you'll be looking at 6 weeks rest to get rid of that pain.

Some good rules to follow (I've learned to accept that these apply to me as much as I wanted to believe I was an exception) are not to increase your distance by more than 10%/week and not to run on consecutive days until you have a lot of miles under your belt. These are both very difficult because your heart/lungs start feeling really good with work levels that your legs can't yet handle.

Tell me about it. I'm still struggling with my shin splints (still don't think it is a stress fracture - maybe I should talk to a doctor) and my torn calf. I have made it a goal not to run until mid July. I am doing crazy miles on my bike/in the pool in the meantime.

[SteelBlue]

Tell me about it. I'm still struggling with my shin splints (still don't think it is a stress fracture - maybe I should talk to a doctor) and my torn calf. I have made it a goal not to run until mid July. I am doing crazy miles on my bike/in the pool in the meantime.

They can really hurt. I have twice reached a point where I felt like I had just jumped off a roof during my runs. Both times took me 6 weeks of no running to come back from.

[Pheidippides]

They can really hurt. I have twice reached a point where I felt like I had just jumped off a roof during my runs. Both times took me 6 weeks of no running to come back from.

I'd be recovered if I hadn't run that marathon. I shouldn't have lined up at all, but I promised my brother I'd run it with him as far as I could.

[ERCougar]

That bolded portion pretty much describes me too. I spent the first 3 years of my return to running being injured about every 12 weeks. As a result, I'm pretty familiar with the majority of running injuries, especially shin splints. If they're hurting just walking around you might be best served by taking a week off. If you get too impatient, you'll be looking at 6 weeks rest to get rid of that pain.

Some good rules to follow (I've learned to accept that these apply to me as much as I wanted to believe I was an exception) are not to increase your distance by more than 10%/week and not to run on consecutive days until you have a lot of miles under your belt. These are both very difficult because your heart/lungs start feeling really good with work levels that your legs can't yet handle.

Let me just add one more rule that seems to have helped me. Running shouldn't hurt. Yes, there are little pains that come and go, but anything that I can't make disappear by tweaking my form indicates something is wrong and I should stop and walk home. (This is one of my issues with running with music--I'm not as in-tune with my body and I don't notice the aches until they've been there too long.) I'm going on 3-4 injury-free years now (knock on wood) by following this.

[SteelBlue]

Let me just add one more rule that seems to have helped me. Running shouldn't hurt. Yes, there are little pains that come and go, but anything that I can't make disappear by tweaking my form indicates something is wrong and I should stop and walk home. (This is one of my issues with running with music--I'm not as in-tune with your body and I don't notice the aches until they've been there too long.) I'm going on 3-4 injury-free years now (knock on wood) by following this.

This is a good rule. I try and do the same and am much better at it now than I've ever been but if I'm 5 or 6 miles out I haven't yet reached the point where I'll walk it back in.

[OhioBlue]

I'm still novice compared to many of you here, but I find myself identifying with the things people have learned. I've come to the conclusion that "listen to your body" is great advice but it takes time and experience (read: dealing with at least minor setbacks/injury) to learn to distinguish what to listen to and what to let go.

I'm also learning the hard way that many people have no business ever increasing mileage and intensity at the same time. I am one of those many people.

Nobody ever told me that. I was vigilant about my mileage increase, nutrition, sleep, stretching, and strength training. I never ran hard two days in a row, usually only doing anything other than 'easy' pace 2-3 days/wk at most. I targeted typically-weak muscle groups in the hip girdle, medial quads, tensor fascia, etc. and thought I was injury-proof. Then BAM! It's taken two setbacks for me to look back at my log and find that the trigger for both was a week where I upped my mileage and also upped the pace or added more speedwork.

It feels a little unique to running, the patience I have to develop. In many other sports, if I want to get good fast at some particular skill, I can just practice, practice, practice and work hard. But working hard in running I guess just has to be done patiently and intelligently--two qualities I do not possess in abundance.

[ERCougar]

This is a good rule. I try and do the same and am much better at it now than I've ever been but if I'm 5 or 6 miles out I haven't yet reached the point where I'll walk it back in.

That's tough, but that's also why I run with a cell phone. I've had a couple of runs where I've run-walked it in (keep trying to run for a few minutes, then stop if the pain pops up again) and only one time had to call my wife to come pick me up, but my ITBS episode was so bad that I have no trouble keeping this rule. I'm probably overly paranoid about injuries (I think I consulted you a few years back about what must have been the mildest case of PF anyone has ever had--if I even had it), but that sucked.

[ERCougar]

I'm still novice compared to many of you here, but I find myself identifying with the things people have learned. I've come to the conclusion that "listen to your body" is great advice but it takes time and experience (read: dealing with at least minor setbacks/injury) to learn to distinguish what to listen to and what to let go.

Yeah, there might be some experience in figuring this out, but I think it's simpler than you think. I don't let any pain (anywhere) go longer than about a half mile--if I can't make it go away by tweaking things, I walk.

Your other rule's a good one and I never run hard two days in a row either.

[woot]

Let me just add one more rule that seems to have helped me. Running shouldn't hurt. Yes, there are little pains that come and go, but anything that I can't make disappear by tweaking my form indicates something is wrong and I should stop and walk home. (This is one of my issues with running with music--I'm not as in-tune with my body and I don't notice the aches until they've been there too long.) I'm going on 3-4 injury-free years now (knock on wood) by following this.

This seems like a good rule. I'm seeking to moderate a lot of my binary stuff so I'll try it with running. The tibia doesn't hurt today, necessarily, but I'm still aware that something is going on in there just walking around. I should probably give it a few days.

[woot]

It feels a little unique to running, the patience I have to develop. In many other sports, if I want to get good fast at some particular skill, I can just practice, practice, practice and work hard. But working hard in running I guess just has to be done patiently and intelligently--two qualities I do not possess in abundance.

That's pretty insightful and probably explains why I've been running too much. I caught the bug and wanted to get good so lots of practice seemed like the obvious path.

[SteelBlue]

That's tough, but that's also why I run with a cell phone. I've had a couple of runs where I've run-walked it in (keep trying to run for a few minutes, then stop if the pain pops up again) and only one time had to call my wife to come pick me up, but my ITBS episode was so bad that I have no trouble keeping this rule.

I should have mentioned that ITB pain is one thing that will now stop me in my tracks and I will walk it in from 10 out if I have to. I haven't had it in some time, but that is the toughest injury for me to heal by far. I've gotten very good at recognizing when it's coming on and stopping. For me it starts with a fatigued feeling in the TFL, as soon as I feel that I know that I need to end the run within the next mile or less.

[Pheidippides]

I should have mentioned that ITB pain is one thing that will now stop me in my tracks and I will walk it in from 10 out if I have to. I haven't had it in some time, but that is the toughest injury for me to heal by far. I've gotten very good at recognizing when it's coming on and stopping. For me it starts with a fatigued feeling in the TFL, as soon as I feel that I know that I need to end the run within the next mile or less.

ITBS is the most painful thing I've ever experienced.

[Moliere]

What's an ideal heart rate while running?

I've been out twice with my new Garmin 305 and both times I've used the heart rate monitor (I typically do my short runs on the treadmill at work). I've only gone about 3/4 of a mile both times (still building up from the stress fracture). Each time my heart rate has gone up to between 165 and 170. I am running a 8:00 mile pace which is faster than my pace when I stopped running but the heart rate just seems really high for such a short distance. Granted I'm pushing it because I know I'm only going 3/4 mile, but still I'm surprised I get it up that high. It makes me wonder if during my 3 mile runs in the winter if I was doing 170 BPM for 25 minutes straight.