Hacker News Reader

Comment by itchynosedev | Hacker News Reader

I damaged my shin bones because I was running too much too soon and currently taking 2 months break. Side note, I used to run 20k every week, then stopped.

Be careful of the problem on the opposite side of the spectrum: your body might not be able to keep up with your motivation.

View on HN

Couch to 5k (a.k.a. C25K) is a popular way to build up slowly and steadily.

Once you're up to running 5k three times a week (which is roughly where the plan leaves you) you can limit both volume and max distance increases to 10% per week.

I used to run 5-6 times a week with a usual volume of 50k/week so adding in another 1-2 gentle 5k recovery jogs to do a minimum of 5k every day wouldn't be difficult at all. But that's an entirely different prospect to just going out and trying to run 5k every day (although some people do exactly this and get away with it) with minimal existing running fitness or conditioning.

In my (totally unprofessional) opinion, C25K progresses too quickly for most people. It think the "None to Run" variant is better (and emphasizes that repeating weeks is normal, and even expected)

Agreed. I joined the military out of HS and got hurt in a car accident. Nothing serious but enough to keep my from PT-ing for a little. They had me do something like C25K as part of rehab -- lots of run a lap, walk a lap, repeat x 10, with increasing amounts of running as I progressed. Worked okay, got back to reasonably fit in a couple of months.

Few years later I'm a softbody IT guy looking to shape up, and decided to follow the reddit C25K sub -- it killed my shins. Bad splints, had to cut out running for a while. I got there eventually but I think 60 minutes of biking or eliptical + leg workouts did more for me than the C25K (as written) did.

None to Run looks great! The slower the progression the better for beginning runners in my (also totally unprofessional) opinion too.

As a general comment, shin splints is the classic beginners too-much-too-soon running injury. Experienced runners get a whole range of other injuries, but rarely shin splints. The only time is after they take a break and try and come back too quickly (notice the pattern).

Yep, with running as an absolute beginner, you really want to start slowly, both in terms of tempo and in terms of distance. The key is regularity and persistence.

By running slowly a lot, your body has time to learn how to run efficiently and safely simply by trial and error. By not overdoing it, you give your body time to recover from any errors made during the "trials", without injury.

Incidentally, lot of slow running is also a great way to build up base endurance, so it is not wasted time, and you will "recoup the investment" later, when you start running longer distances.

Shin splints suck, though. Even experienced runners get them from time to time. Probably best to switch it up a bit, include swimming or bicycle instead of some runs every now and then.

To quote an amazing motivator, Jocko Willink, "Good". Now you have more time to do cycling or strength train or some other exercise instead of running.

Here's the video of it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdTMDpizis8

So you can break other parts of your body next? :)

That's a fascinating idea, our bodies may not be able to keep up with our motivation. I've been pondering a lot about how our minds can live in a fantasyland of imagination that can hold long runs of time never being put to the test. Physical reality is the great check and test for many things.

I had to stop playing basketball with the guys when my knee couldn't keep up with my joy of playing.

Not even giving up for the next X intervals isn't the same as continue even if it hurts.

You should always consider starting again tomorrow, if it hurts.

You don't have to conquer the world in a day. This is a long fight. One needs to rest, recover and try again.

I think this could do more with your running form and listening to your body than your will that kept you going. It might be worth checking out your form with a running coach. Either way, wishing you a speedy recovery.

You can absolutely injure yourself by running too much, even with perfect form, and before you would notice anything is wrong while "listening to your body".

Yeah, people say "listen to your body" like this is simply a settled issue and all you have to do is make a decision to be more responsible. Researchers have barely even begun to properly unpack variations in interoception or RSI susceptibility, let alone the interactions between them.

I think you missed the point. Regardless of if their form was good or bad they ran through the pain. Shin splints and pantar faciticus are really bad to do that with as the recovery takes forever and you just can't do anything during it related to that area.

I think your getting downvoted as you answered x when they were discussing y.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com