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Do I need to run slower?
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Hi all
I am a 38 year old male who cares no extra weight. I have started running again three weeks ago after a long time off and have progressed quite well. I now do 2 miles in under 16 mins every other night. My question is am I going too quick for my level of fitness?
I ran Wednesday night and when I got up today (Friday) my legs are sore particulary one knee? Is this because I am am going to quick or is this normal as my muscles, ligaments and tendons get used to the exercise and impact? I cannot seem to be able to run any slower and feel really consious of jogging slow.
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Comments
8 minute miles are a reasonable pace for someone to be getting back in to running. Whether they are too quick or not is impossible to tell. The 'too quick' can relate to two different aspects:
i) Injury avoidance and
ii) Fitness/ performance improvement
From the point of view of injury avoidance, only you can really tell. If you are already having some knee pain, I'd suggest that is a clear warning sign. Running slower as your muscles/ ligaments etc toughen up would be a good idea. But you may also want to check out the suitability of your running shoes. There's only one meaningful way to do this and that is to visit a specialist running shop and get a gait analysis. Colour/ brand/ price/ design are the wrong criteria for choosing a good running shoe.
The knee pain itself may be within the boundaries of normal aches as you adjust.... common knee pain can be checked out by looking up "ITB knee pain" or "Runners Knee". Self diagnosis is pretty simple when you understand what they are. Good luck.
I suppose it would really all depend upon whether you're returning to running after an injury or whether simply returning after a long lay off.
If you're returning to running after injury, it would depend on what the injury was and what your average speed was before the injury?
If you're not returning following an injury, have you kept yourself active in otherways, since you last ran?
Eitherway, I suspect that you may need to re-build strength in your legs, to help your muscles re-accustom themselves to the rigours of running.
Perhaps, concentrating upon strength training on your days off from running may help to reduce the discomfort, since strengthing the muscles around a joint can help to improve its stability.