Mistakes Rookies Make
July 19 marks the first anniversary of the beginning of my running odyssey, but as I related in my discussion, mine isn’t a couch-to-5K story, nor was I new to endurance sports in general, having been a cyclist for years. But cycling and running are very different sports, and my endurance base, built up over a year of fast walks, didn’t prepare me for the rigors of my new sport. I’m sharing my early experiences in the hope that a perspective runner might avoid some of the boneheaded decisions I made last summer.
I didn’t always ride through the winter when I was cycling. This wasn’t issue in my early twenties, when I spent much of the winter in Nazareth College’s fitness center or in the pool after I joined the swim team, but that changed in my thirties and forties, when I took the sport again.
If I started the season in shape, I could push a decent pace on the flats; it would take a month to six weeks to fully regain my climbing form. If I started the season out of shape, as was the case most years in my thirties and forties, I could usually ride around 50 miles a day after a month, after which I could focus on speed and strength.
I never gave much thought to injuries beyond the possibility of a serious crash, which I thankfully avoided over my 12 years of riding. Aside from a few strains and a minor bout of tendonitis probably brought on by pushing heavy gears in the 80s, my “injuries” consisted of a sore backside during the break-in period as I toughened my hide.
These experiences shaped my approach to running and contributed to several injuries that could have discouraged me from continuing with the sport.
My first run was a modest trip to Recess Coffee in downtown Syracuse totaling about 1.8 miles, and for the next two weeks I did everything right; I researched form, adjusted my stride so I wouldn’t overstrike, and I kept my runs to around two miles to build up strength. I followed the 10% rule, slowly increasing my distance bit by bit. I started running three miles at a time in my third week, felt good, and blew it.
A good endurance base in cycling allowed for long, slow rides that would allow me to build up to faster paces and longer rides. But there’s a significant difference with running, something that, with all of my research and experience with endurance sports, I never considered.
I was always accustomed to the idea of building up muscle strength, but running, as a high impact sport, also strengthens bones, ligaments, and joints. Much like muscles, the skeletal supports system adapts to new stresses, and just as quads need time to adapt, so too does your body’s framework.
This is less of a concern with cycling, and that’s where I got myself into trouble.
Three weeks in, I ran four miles in a day. A few days later, I hit five, then I ran six miles twice on alternating days. I’d gone from two miles to six in three weeks, and I was about to learn a very important—and painful—lesson.
The pain in my right hip developed after my first 10K run. I ran with it two days later, and it seemed to resolve itself when over the run.
I entered one of the Syracuse Charger’s 5K fun run at Onondaga Lake Park two days after my second six-miler with the goal of breaking 30 minutes—and a dull ache on the outside of my hip. I’d been averaging a 10:30-11:00 pace on most of my runs, I’d been running for three and a half weeks, and I had a stiff hip, but I had a good base of endurance and I was hellbent on breaking that 30 minute mark.
On a warm, humid, buggy August evening, I finished the run with a mouth full of insects, a time under 29 minutes, and a sharp pain radiating through my hip. I limped a quarter of a mile back to the car and drove home.
I found myself all-but-immobilized when I got out of the car; my right leg seemed to lock in place, and any effort to move generated intense, burning pain down my leg. It took me five minutes to walk roughly 100 feet to the door. Navigating the stairs that evening was a study in pain.
I’d broken three cardinal rules: never increase mileage too quickly, don’t push yourself through an injury, and moderate intensity until your body has a chance to adapt to the new stresses.
Fortunately, my enthusiasm only cost me a few days of training. A few short walks helped with my recovery, and I limited myself to short, slow runs the following week. It would be several weeks before I ran over five miles again, and I limited myself to one or two longer runs a week, never back to back.
My hip ached periodically for the next two months, but I never had another debilitating episode. Paradoxically, I think I might have avoided this if I didn’t have a solid base of endurance, as I probably wouldn’t have had the stamina to push on for more than two or three miles.
Cliff Notes
Increase your mileage slowly: 10% per week is commonly suggested,
Don’t expect your fitness to carry you through. Your body will need time to strengthen bones, joints, tendons and ligaments in response to the stresses imposed by running.
Endurance athletes have to have a high tolerance for suffering, but it’s not a good idea to run with unusual aches and pains.
It’s better to take a few days off to recover than it is to persevere and run the risk of more serious pain.
Running is not like cycling or other low-impact sports.
