No Pain, No Gain?

Time for another running update.

Okay, so I don’t necessarily believe the whole ‘no pain, no gain‘ statement…but I guess there is always some pain involved while getting into shape.

It’s just that certain progress pain is good, while injury pain isn’t.

As most of you know, I hit the ground running while beginning to train for my first half marathon in November.  I’m not a runner and never have been and after two weeks of running a mile every other day…I.was.in.PAIN.

My knees (well, one in particular) were killing me.  They were stiff, sore, sent shooting pains up my leg when I tried to kneel…and good luck trying to get up off the floor.

So I had to stop running.  And it was super frustrating because I was actually starting to like running.  But I figured it was best to give my knees a break before truly injuring them which would make the half marathon impossible.

I made the most of my downtime.  I went to a running store and got fitted for the correct running shoes.  Little did I know there is pretty much a science for getting fitted (everyone runs differently and puts pressure on different parts of their feet).  Basically, having the wrong shoes can put you into a whole lot of pain.  I learned I over-pronate like crazy (my ankles bend inward when I run) and the shoes I had been running in actually made my over-pronation even worse.  Great.

But I left with the beauties seen in the top photo.  They correct my gait and add support.

Day after day went by waiting for the pain to subside (and me being extremely patient because I wanted to try out the new shoes).  And finally the pain went away.

It was time to start running again!

About a quarter mile into my run…the pain came back.  UGH.

After a text to my brother in law who is a physical therapist, I learned my true problem is probably weak quad, hip, and glute muscles.  So guess who is doing tons of strength and stretching exercises?  This gal.

I’ve got my fingers crossed this is the cure to the pain. 

I can only hope that they help quickly due to me running out of time to be properly trained to run my half in November…