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Resuming running
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I've taken a break from running for the last 2 or 3 months as I was having some knee pain, most likely caused by my excess weight and running on very hard surfaces.
I want to resume my running and I was thinking of starting out again doing 2 miles and increasing by 10% each week.
Would I be mad to try and start out and run every day? Or should I just start out doing about 4 runs a week?
FYI I have been running for about a year before this break so I'm not completely new.
I want to resume my running and I was thinking of starting out again doing 2 miles and increasing by 10% each week.
Would I be mad to try and start out and run every day? Or should I just start out doing about 4 runs a week?
FYI I have been running for about a year before this break so I'm not completely new.
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Comments
Depending on the exact nature of your knee problem, I would personally have at least a day off between runs initially, not so much for any fitness concerns but just so that you can monitor if there are any niggles, during the run, immediately after, in bed, getting up in the morning, walking, etc. If it's OK after a few runs you'll be able to build up frequency and mileage from there.
Also if you haven't done so, I'd recommend getting to a physio for a more accurate diagnosis. Knee tendons, ligaments and bones are complicated things and it may actually be that the correct course of action involves exercises to aid a return to running, e.g. strengthening exercises, stretches...
I've had patella tendon and ITB problems in the past - different knees - so I've got some sympathy. Good luck getting back to it.
I'd also suggest that you start by time rather than mileage ie x mins rather than x miles. Build up gradually, take rest breaks between runs, you could do x-training on those days if necessary.
But as Phil says, get the problems checked out otherwise you could find that they start again - or you may be able to identify the cause, then avoid them completely.
Good luck.
Anyway today my laziness and procrastination got in the way and I didn't go for a run.
I wouldn't get too hung up on the actual maths. I think the 10% rule is something that is accepted by many but nobody really knows where it comes from. <But I'm open to ideas on source material.> Just don't increase things too drastically.
I would say a good general rule would be to stick with a length/time of run that you're used to for a few runs before adding ''a little more''. Sort of a short-term plateau approach rather than incrementally increasing run-on-run. So if you're used to doing 20 mins 3x/wk, stick with it for a few runs, then add 5 minutes on. But if this feels ridiculously easy, you probably won't kill yourself by going out for half an hour. IMO if you follow the 10% ''rule'' too closely you may be progressing more slowly than is necessary - especially if you're coming back from injury and are used to running much longer distances previously.
As to hills, surfaces, etc., it really is down to the specific injury. I've been told to stick to flat, even surfaces to rehab my hip injury, so in fact a flat piece of tarmac may be better than a lumpy bit of off-road where the footfall may be less predictable. I think that's where the physio comes in...