Is it normal for knees to Hirt so soon?

[Angbunnyboo]

Hi

I'm doing C25K and am on week 3 but repeating week one over and over again to up my fitness and stamina a bit.

Ive gone out today to do my run, and my knees have started to hurt a bit. Not major pain, it just feels like Im running with straight legs rather than a bend, and I can't seem to "feel" the bend in my knee when I run IYSWIM?

Is this normal? Is there more warming up I should do than just the brisk walk? I'm just a bit concerned that it may get worse and I really don't want to stop running (well, shuffling tbh!).

Have you got decent footwear? A good cushioned sole can help prevent knee pain.

Sounds like wear and tear or a torn meniscus

I read an article the other day by Belinda Carlisle saying she had experienced the same thing after running for years and participating in marathons.

I

couch thanks for coming back to me. Its a pain cos I'm starting to love running (well, slowly jogging!)

I've been wearing my most comfy trainers and they've been ok for the first couple of weeks but I might need to get new ones.

Am I better waiting until I can get to a running shop, and just buying a cheap pair to tide me over, or should I buy proper running ones online? I know I overpronate but thats all I know.

How often are you going out? When I first started, my knees could only cope with twice a week. I did other exercises to build up my strength in my legs, knees, and glutes in between, added some yoga and it was much better. Now I can do 3 or 4 times, depending on how hard I take it/how far I go, and I'm usually fine. If I feel any twinges, I just give an extra recovery day and add in some more yoga!

I'v been out three times a week for the past three weeks. I'm only doing 24 minutes running each time and about 3km in total with the walking rests in between.
I've felt absolutely fine until yesterday when they started to ache.

I'll try to strength exercises - are they better to do before you run so you've had a warm up? I just always feel like a brisk walk is not enough.

I used to do mine at random intervals during the day, I really needed to build up a bit of strength though. Combined with the yoga and the hiit workout I'd do instead of the third run, this seemed to work for me. Yes it would take me a week and half to complete a week of course but I did it injury free. Then I built upto 3 or 4 runs a week (not major distance or fast!) and when I'm good, yoga. But when I don't keep up the yoga I definitely feel the difference.

If you don't feel wanted up enough, look up dynamic stretching on YouTube. That should help

I would def buy decent trainers, cheap ones are a false economy. I know it's really hard atm, are any local running shops giving over the phone advice I wonder?

I had this & decent running trainers made all the difference for me. Also make sure you are stretching properly afterwards.

I'd treat yourself to some decent running shoes. Your existing ones don't seem to be offering enough impact protection.

I started running last may, I was reasonably fit to start with as my boys go to school at the top of a steep hill and I often had to carry the youngest up it! I found I got aches everywhere for quite a few weeks after I started running. Sometimes it was my ankles, sometimes knees or shins. Make sure you warm up and warm down and get proper running shoes. Doing those things will help but you will still feel aches and pains until your body is used to it I'm afraid. To warm down I usually finish my run about .25 km away from home and walk it. I remember taking painkillers for a few weeks!

Can I suggest doing some yoga too? I find that the gentle movements in the legs and knees together with the strengthening effect of holding some of the poses really helps. My weak area is my ankles and for a full year after a sprained ankle my foot kept rolling over. Slowly taking up balance and standing poses has brought real benefits. If I don't keep up with the yoga I get a little knee pain in a deep squat with knees to the front, clearly muscular tightness as the yoga sorts this out too.