[Quail]

I'm new and have LOTS of questions.

Background: I weigh around 280 and am 5'2". I'm in my early 30's. When I was in my mid-twenties, I weighed 275 and lost 130 pounds by running and calorie counting. And gained it all back the second I stopped working out.

I thought this time around I'd try the same thing with the understanding that I will have to exercise and watch what I eat for the rest of my life to avoid gaining it all back. Makes sense, right?

So 2 weeks ago, I started running. Now that I think about it, it's probably more than a 30-something person should run, but it was just fine when I did it 10 years ago.

The problem: I run/walk twice a day, for 40 minutes at a time. I take a day off every 4 days. After the first few days, I was sore. Now, almost 2 weeks later, I am still sore. Especially in my hips, like where my hip bones attach to my pelvis. It's pretty awful pain that shows up the second I start running and subsides into a dull ache throughout the day. And my feet hurt, too. My bone spur hurts a lot, but that's to be expected. And my thigh muscles hurt, too.

So what do I do? Do I keep at it and run through the pain? Run less? Stop running? Am I doing permanent damage by running while in pain?

Thanks!!!

[jendiet]

2 weeks seems like such a long time, I would not give up running. I run in place on a rebounder with my wii fit. It is not jarring to the bones. I found my FEET hurt really bad when i jog on the pavement, despite my shoes.

you may need to adjust your running medium for comfort. rebounders cost about $20 i have had mine for over 5 years, and am due for a new one. don't get the one with the handles they get in the way.

[Rochester]

I am not an expert at all, but these are my thoughts.

That's seems like a very intense workout for just starting out! Twice a day for four days straight didn't give your body any recovery time between runs. I honestly think it would be a good idea to check with a doctor before running again, because you might very well have injured something by overtraining.

Do you have good shoes? I mean, brand-new fitted-at-a-running-store high-quality running shoes? This is one thing I hear experienced runners says over and over. You MUST have the right shoes.

Hope that helps and good luck.

[thesame7lbs]

I would see a doctor to rule out a stress fracture to the femur. I had one last year.

This is from the livestrong website:

The causes of a stress fracture to the femur include suddenly increasing the intensity or duration of your sport or workout, increasing the number of workouts, ill fitting gear or shoes, sudden changes in the workout surface or a change in terrain.

Read more: here

Here's some more info from sportsinjuryclinic.com:
Symptoms of femur stress fracture

* A dull ache deep in the general area of the thigh.
* Pain when a bending force is applied to the femur (video).
* Pain may be referred into the knee.
* Pain may become worse when the patient allows the thigh to hang over the edge of a bench or chair, particularly if weight is then applied downwards onto the thigh.
* X-ray may or may not show up the stress fracture but a bone scan or MRI should give a more accurate diagnosis.


I know that's a quick diagnosis (from someone with NO medical training other than being married to a doctor ) but I wouldn't mess around with it. A friend of mine ran on a femoral stress fracture this spring and just spent 8 weeks on crutches. And her husband's an orthopedist!

[ennay]

I would not run while in pain. Achiness is to be expected. Pain is not.

You need to build your body up to what you are doing. After ruling out serious injury (and a stress fracture can not be easily diagnosed this quickly, they will likely say just stop running for 2 weeks) ease back into it with more walking and more rest. That is too much of a ramp too fast.

There is no reason why EVENTUALLY that schedule wouldnt be ok, but not so soon.

[Ilene]

Oh my, running twice a day is way too much to start... Rule of thumb for beginner runners is to run every second day, for 30 minutes and that includes a 5 min warm-up and cool-down.... and work your time/mileage up from there by 10% only per week... If you want to do more you should do something else in between like weight training to strengthen the ligament and muscles.

You should definitely stretch a LOT after running here are some great stretches I love no. 2 and 3...