Running … does it get easier or will I just fall apart

Got into running this year, in 6-7 months have been ‘injured’ enough that I cant run for around 7 weeks of that time….

Being just over 40 and not having ever ran really since school I am finding if I so much as over-do it by a tiny amount my legs will let me know by feeling like total crap, sometimes bad enough that even walking isn’t pleasant for a week or so.

For the first time I am visiting a physio, have sports massage and am becoming as obsessed with running shoes as I am with bikes… its got me hooked.

The next 6 months will decide if its something I can do going forward or pack it in though, would love to build up to a marathon in 2025 if my body doesn’t give up.

did c25k at about 45 for the first time having steered clear of running even in school, managed to damage an ankle on a stupid low speed roll over and clip out on the bike at about week 6. went back to it after about two months and went in at about week 5 on c25k IIRC. went fine. then just ran a bit longer and faster and got down to about 23 mins for 5k which i was well happy with during the first lockdown as my only target had been sub 25. left off it a bit, but now running much more, particularly during this poor weather, in as much as i get out more often but not really running longer distances – just trying to get out. i’m slower but more regular and i’m happy with that, at least at the moment. will probably make more effort to get a bit quicker and also do some longer runs, but main aim is just to get out at the mo.

injury is not a given IMV. listen to your body. i concede though that we’re all different.

That post about Maffetone^ sort of defines running just for fun. Run in zone 3, get fitter over time, avoid injuries and ignore the competitive side (even against yourself). You’ll definitely get fitter and mostly avoid all the downsides.

It gets easier.

can no longer run, osteoarthritis in my left knee. Likely down to that.

Just putting this here now – there is no link between running and osteoarthritis, and in fact it tends to strengthen the joint. People with arthritis in their knees are either ex-football players or skiers.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8478853/

Agree with that. I have spurs in my ankles and mcl injuries in my knees from other sports but running has only ever caused minor muscle injuries.

Went out this afternoon to try a short hilly trail run I used to do regularly (last did it 8 years ago) and see how it affected me. I was very slow by comparison to my old times but found it easier than a flat loop despite a much higher heart rate. And aside from the calf pain I’ve had recently there’s none of the other muscle aches I get on the flat.

Thanks all, will read through the new replies now.

Couple of comments though – @reeksy – cheaky b8stard – the back row are really just glorified backs* 🙂 🙂 😉

Sadly the flat lands of East Anglia don’t really lend themselves to hill/non flat running. That said the few bits of “trail running” I’ve done have been more enjoyable.

Over night I’ve been mulling the comments/questions on speed and drive etc. I have always been competitive with myself and so I guess that is my main driver. If I’m doing it (running, riding, lifting, DIY etc) I want to get better.

* Only joking 😉

I tried running only in zone 3, but there’s just too much traffic in London these days.

Just putting this here now – there is no link between running and osteoarthritis, and in fact it tends to strengthen the joint. People with arthritis in their knees are either ex-football players or skiers.

Lots of myths about running leading to injuries. I started running at 17 (late starter) and am now 60 and other than Arthritis in my large toe joint (which can be surprisingly debilitating at times) I have no issues other than some aches and pains when I am training “hard”. All disappear after a few days of not running. As above the opposite appears to be true and running can help avoid issues that are often due to sedentary lifestyles. Of course there will be some that have issues that are exacerbated by running but I think these are few and far between. I now race against people I ran against in the 70’s and 80’s and there are still a lot of them about and many running very well.

I have always been competitive with myself and so I guess that is my main driver. If I’m doing it (running, riding, lifting, DIY etc) I want to get better.

There are many versions of better. For me it means the ability to go further. I’d rather be able to 4 or 5 hours at a slow pace than a 20 minute 5km. I had a social club run from Kingussie to Dalwhinnie a couple of weeks back (25km or so) that was pretty much my ideal.

I occasionally rode with a local group which seemed to be around 50% injured fell runners. I think to an extent it goes with the territory, particularly relative to cycling, because it’s a weight-bearing exercise with relatively high impact forces plus a tendency to seek out and punish any bio-mechanical weaknesses. Obviously individuals vary, but I think that’s a reasonable general take. The heavier you are, the higher impacts tend to be as well.

I used to run a fair bit, mostly I guess as mountaineering ‘training’, and actually found that running more, to an extent, made me more resilient. As people have said, you can help yourself with… specific strength and mobility work, careful shoe choice, good running technique/form/whatever you want to call it etc. The other thing is to listen to your body and try not to increase load too fast.

A classic cyclist thing is to have good cardio-vascular fitness, but muscles that really aren’t well adapted to weight-bearing work, so you end up going faster/harder/longer than your legs are capable of coping with, then regretting it afterwards. I suspect a lot of us have been there.

It may be that you’re simply pushing too hard, too soon even if you think you’re not. I’d maybe back off a bit and stop worrying about times. My take is that competitive running is pretty horrible, but running to simply enjoy the motion and being outdoors is ace and less likely to damage you and simply running consistently will progress your running more effectively than getting caught up in a boom/bust injury doom loop.

I’d agree with scotroutes. I’ve been running for a few years now. It’s definitely getting easier. I use that to run more rather than faster (I’m definitely not fast). In the winter I try and run most days as I’m doing less of other stuff. I also do some longet runs or go for a run somewhere nice. Working away or on holiday I’ll always try a get a run in. It’s a great way to sight see. Did some beautiful runs along the beach on the west coast of Ireland last week

Over 50, run more days than not, and no injuries so happy with this strategy

I listened to @scotroutes and started following Run better with Ash on youtube, i am just starting my running journey and doing Couch to 5k and started week 5, althogh in my usual stubborn way, i have managed two 5k straight through as i got ahead of myself and wanted to see if i could do it.

I’m 97kg and an old prop forward, so spent years trying to avoid running after i left army after a dislocated knee that caused me nothing but problems, but have started as i have entered the London Landmarks half marathon in April to raise money for diabetes charities.

The youtube channel above has been great, do their 5-10min warm up, do my run, then back to anything between 10-30 mins warm down, a lot of what he does it a mixture of stretching and some strength and is a lot more dynamic than just yoga or stretching, been very conscious of not injuring myself.

I think like you @letmetotalktomark, i am in East Anglia, but also a singlespeeder, so convince myself this must have helped knees and tendons as i’ve done my best to punish them for years!

Wahoo SYSTM is very good for bodyweight strength and yoga work outs too

One of them is a qualified sport physio. I could try the I read this on Google approach but I suspect she’d skelp ma lugs.

Maybe we should get the physio and (different person) sports physio I know that both told me (not Google), and you’re physio to fight it out. A Fife Physio vs CGR physio battle ?

*it might be worn out knees, what I’ve been told is it’s not always that, and that people have a tendency to default to the assumption

I had similar issues to OP over 10/15 years. I always got small injuries, niggles that would then escalate into stuff that needed a physio to fix. I’d run for a few weeks, get a niggle, then be off it for months, then restart the cycle. Really frustrating. I tried changing shoes, custom orthotics, coaching technique, etc. with minimal results.

The thing that changed it for me — massively changed it — was simply to consistently run *a lot* slower. My reasoning was that I don’t get injured when walking, so I shouldn’t get injured when running slowly. I set myself the goal that every run would be a Z2 run. At the start, this felt abominably slow, embarrassingly slow. But now my Z2 pace is the same as my previous Z3/4 pace. I am running longer distances than before. I enjoy it. I have zero injuries or niggles. I feel great the day after a run, not sore or tight at all. I can see that my endurance and aerobic base has massively improved, which has helped performance on the bike. I can even play around a bit with running pace to turn on the gas from time to time (with caution). It’s been a game-changer for me — not sure why I never tried to implement it before.

Anyway, I now think the first priority of any recreational runner should be to run to be injury free, not to chase some mythical pace/time/distance. Injuries are not fun at all, they slow down your progression overall and wipe out fitness gains. Try to run to be injury free first; then, see what pace/distance you end up reaching. Do this rather than busting a gut and f**king up your knees/back/hips/ankle in the process just so you can bag some impressive time.

Interesting thread and interesting post sockcookies. Especially this comment:

At the start, this felt abominably slow, embarrassingly slow. But now my Z2 pace is the same as my previous Z3/4 pace. I am running longer distances than before.