First Couch to 5k injury. Really disappointed. How should I manage it>

[nkf]

I had reached week 7 just before Christmas. I found I couldn't manage running 25 x 3 over the Christmas period, so I went back to week six. Last week, I ran week six. I ran for 25 minutes on Sunday. No problem. On Tuesday, it hurt. A sort of sharp pain at the point where thigh meets groin. I waited and walked and pushed through and ran about 15 minutes. Today, it hurt even more. What should I do? I am so disappointed. I was loving it and it made all the difference to my life. I am due to run on Sunday. Shall I leave it?

Just asked Dr Google. It says it's groin pain and I have to wait weeks for it to heal. I can't bear it. Has anyone experienced similar? Please.

Please. I can't bear to give up. Has this happened to anyone?

Sounds like a groin strain- usual treatment is rest (up to 2 weeks or until pain free) ice if you fancy, then restart running very slowly as you will be prone to reinjury. Don't do mad stretching until its feeling better.

I might sound blasé about it, but you are a runner now and you will have injuries. I've had just about everything over the years and you can't rush the healing process or it lasts longer - I feel your pain

Two weeks!Thank you for the advice. I do feel upset though. What will I replace it with?

First time I started c25k I hurt my knee and figured running on it would warm it up. I ended up completely off my feet for 2 weeks as I couldn't weight bear at all and just started back up again running 4 months later after a long recovery. If it hurts more than usual aches and sound it needs a rest. Better 2 weeks than 4 months.

caffeinated is right - it can easily go on much longer if you ignore it (think months instead of weeks).

You can try doing some other things that will benefit your running, like core stability work such as planks, press ups, sit ups etc - google it and see what you find.

You could swim using a pull-buoy (float between your legs) this is a great way to do low impact training and get your endorphins going. I won't go as far as saying try to see injury as an opportunity for growth and it will be driving you mad. i once had to try to find something to do while having tennis elbow and achilles pain, so i was knocked out on all corners.

Can I swim, do you think? Or walk briskly? I'm going to miss it so much. I never thought I'd love running, but I do.

You can probably swim, but I'd avoid breast stroke as it will involve your groin when you kick, front crawl maybe depending on how much you kick, but I would stick with non legs swimming- you go faster anyway as your legs are buoyant. I wouldn't even fast walk until the pain is much better as you will continually pull on it.

Basically it's up to you, you can do a bit and drag it out longer as it niggles on, or nip it in the bud by stopping for a week or two. It's taken me 3 years to learn to stop EVERYTHING that even nearly hurts when I have an injury. I think groin strains can be a bit of a bugger if they don't heal properly. Believe me, I know how shit it feels!

Okay. I will stop. Thank you. I can tell you sense how much it's bothering me. I feel practically tearful. And I was such a non runner.

I will try a bit of swimming. I do front crawl but I will keep the legs still and just use my arms. And just hope it gets better. How will I know? It doesn't hurt when I'm sititing or lying. it hurts when I walk fast so I can avoid that.

hi nkf - sorry if i sounded a bit dictatorial!! You're a runner now and part of that is learning to manage injuries, so that you can switch to something else when you need to - i tried to rush a simple calf strain a few months ago and after leaving it for 5 days i jogged on it and it pulled again within a mile - it took 2-3 weeks eventually (just like all the googling had told me in the first place )
Your injury will be healing already so don't mess that up and will be a lot better after the weeked if you can last that long!

I would recommend using a float between your thighs when you swim (they usually have them around the pools) as swimming without using your legs at all is hard and will piss you off probably adn make you miss running even more! you can go quite fast using a float - good luck!! PM me if you want some support

You didn't sound dictatorial at all. I needed to hear it. To be honest, it hurts pretty badly at the moment. I can't even walk quickly without it hurting. I will rest it. Do I have to wait till there's ho pain at all or should I just give it a week and then try to run again? Actually, I know what you are going to say - two weeks. Darn it.

You know the answer-no pain at all and then just walking to start with and gentle stretches - if it's a groin thing then maybe think about stride length and shortening it as a long stride will pull on it more. Walking uphill probably won't help either. Walk slowly with short strides. It's only two weeks, you have your whole life to be a runner