SparkPoints: (11,950)
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4/8/12 10:03 A

I have severely arthritic knees and feet as the legacy of a car accident years ago and have just started running ( welll, jog/walking is mor accurate lol) and on the advice of a long lime runner friend the first thing I did was find good shoes, ( for me this is Fivefingers barefoot runners) and forced myself to only run 3 days of the week.

Sounds like you are working on shoes but need to cut back on the amount of days/miles you run in a week.
I understand WANTING to get out there every day. It's just so amazing to actually be able to Do this after years of struggling to just walk without pain.

I know I am signing up for a weekly yoga class to help with flexability( due to the accident, muscle damage, scarring and the arthritis, the left knee no longer bends all the way, and neither knee is properly "load bearing") and strength.

Yoga and working with LIGHT weights is helpful as we'll as keeping you from fretting on your non running days.

Good luck with this.

SparkPoints: (103,710)
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3/30/12 2:04 P

omg you really need to slow down! The first year running it is recommended to run only 3 days a week with a day off inbetween runs.

There is a good book out by John the Penguin and another woman... cannot remember the book or her name, dang! How to run like a Mortal?? maybe someone can. But they have a chapter that totally goes into what happens to your body if you run day after day when first starting out.

current weight: 107.0

128 122.75 117.5 112.25

107

SparkPoints: (42,197)
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3/26/12 5:28 P

You may need to take it back a notch. Especially when we're starting out, it's not a good day to do high-impact exercise on consecutive days. You can build up to it, yes, but most established runners say you need to cross train on alternate days to give your body a chance to rest and recover. A month isn't really enough time for your body to have adjusted to the rigors of running... you can still move, but I'd be careful about running 5 days a week if you haven't been running very long.

The fact that your knees hurt tells me that you're probably trying to do too much, too quickly. Are you following a specific program? The Sparkpeople rookie running programs are great for building up to longer/more frequent runs.

Edited by: DRAGONCHILDE at: 3/26/2012 (17:30)

current weight: 187.4

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155

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3/10/12 8:35 P

I have been running for about a month now but I've increased my frequency to five days per week (Tuesday and Friday are break days unless the weather demands otherwise). My knees are killing me. I just bought new running shoes and inserts today after being analyzed at a special running shoes store. I'm hoping that helps a little. Any tips on how to make this easier on my knees? I'm short and stout so I know that some aches and pains are inevitable...but I don't want it to get so bad I have to stop running.