I just stumbled upon this thread, and since I can't sleep after a medium-sized run tonight, here I am.
OP, how did you make out on shoes and your program?
I have been a lifelong cyclist and skier, and almost one year ago, I took up running. I started on a run/walk program, but I had significant knee pain as I was ramping up mileage and skewing the intervals toward running. An orthopedic doctor told me I had arthritis and possibly a torn meniscus, so I went back to cycling. After a summer of getting after it on my mountain bike, I regained some fitness. Last fall, I started doing long trail walks, and one day, I started running for a bit and felt pretty good. Before long, I ran about 25 miles a week, and a week from today, I am running a 10-mile race. I have another 10-mile race scheduled in April and two half marathons scheduled this summer, all on trails where I live in Central Oregon. While I am not as heavy as you, I definitely skew towards the heavier side for runners, and I have found the plated shoes to work extremely well in supporting my feet and keeping knee and hip pain at bay. I have a North Face Vectiv Infinite 2, Summit Sky plated shoes and a pair of Hoka Tecton X2s. I use custom orthotics, which have also been a massive help in reducing knee issues. As I've gained fitness, my knee and hip issues have significantly improved, and I feel better than I have in years. Everyone is different and has different levels of wear and tear. Still, as someone who used to ski moguls over 100 days a year on a hard-packed mountain (Sun Valey, Idaho) and was a commercial fisherman in Alaska, I have my fair share of wear and tear. My advice is to start slow, ease into it, and learn how to run slow. Really slow! That was hard for me since I've always been a pretty strong aerobic athlete, and I was running way too fast at first. But, after a few months of training and cross-country skate skiing a lot this winter, I am breaking my personal records for 5 and 10ks on my easy runs! I start and finish every run with a half mile of walking to warm up and cool down, which has made a huge difference for me. At this point, I am averaging ~9:30/mile on 10-mile runs and a bit quicker on shorter runs, which is going easy. This coming Sunday, I plan to pick up my pace for the race and dig deep in the last three miles to see what I can do.
Tonight was an easy six-mile run, but now I can't sleep. Whether it is XC skiing, running, or cycling, when I have bigger efforts, I don't sleep well the night of the effort. The next night, I usually don't have an issue.
After going through what I did with knee pain, and how I feel now, I am sceptical and about the old trope of running being hard on your knees. There is no question that some people have injuries or issues that will make running difficult. But I think most people with a solid plan who ease into running will greatly benefit from the activity. I know I had some muscle weakness and imbalance that was causing most of my issues. Stretching, weight lifting, walking, and cycling all helped me get back on track, and now running doesn't aggravate my knees. Don't get me wrong, at soon to be 56 years old, I have achy knees sometimes (all the time!), but running doesn't make it worse. Actually, running has made that better.
Ok, maybe I can try to sleep again!
OP, how did you make out on shoes and your program?
I have been a lifelong cyclist and skier, and almost one year ago, I took up running. I started on a run/walk program, but I had significant knee pain as I was ramping up mileage and skewing the intervals toward running. An orthopedic doctor told me I had arthritis and possibly a torn meniscus, so I went back to cycling. After a summer of getting after it on my mountain bike, I regained some fitness. Last fall, I started doing long trail walks, and one day, I started running for a bit and felt pretty good. Before long, I ran about 25 miles a week, and a week from today, I am running a 10-mile race. I have another 10-mile race scheduled in April and two half marathons scheduled this summer, all on trails where I live in Central Oregon. While I am not as heavy as you, I definitely skew towards the heavier side for runners, and I have found the plated shoes to work extremely well in supporting my feet and keeping knee and hip pain at bay. I have a North Face Vectiv Infinite 2, Summit Sky plated shoes and a pair of Hoka Tecton X2s. I use custom orthotics, which have also been a massive help in reducing knee issues. As I've gained fitness, my knee and hip issues have significantly improved, and I feel better than I have in years. Everyone is different and has different levels of wear and tear. Still, as someone who used to ski moguls over 100 days a year on a hard-packed mountain (Sun Valey, Idaho) and was a commercial fisherman in Alaska, I have my fair share of wear and tear. My advice is to start slow, ease into it, and learn how to run slow. Really slow! That was hard for me since I've always been a pretty strong aerobic athlete, and I was running way too fast at first. But, after a few months of training and cross-country skate skiing a lot this winter, I am breaking my personal records for 5 and 10ks on my easy runs! I start and finish every run with a half mile of walking to warm up and cool down, which has made a huge difference for me. At this point, I am averaging ~9:30/mile on 10-mile runs and a bit quicker on shorter runs, which is going easy. This coming Sunday, I plan to pick up my pace for the race and dig deep in the last three miles to see what I can do.
Tonight was an easy six-mile run, but now I can't sleep. Whether it is XC skiing, running, or cycling, when I have bigger efforts, I don't sleep well the night of the effort. The next night, I usually don't have an issue.
After going through what I did with knee pain, and how I feel now, I am sceptical and about the old trope of running being hard on your knees. There is no question that some people have injuries or issues that will make running difficult. But I think most people with a solid plan who ease into running will greatly benefit from the activity. I know I had some muscle weakness and imbalance that was causing most of my issues. Stretching, weight lifting, walking, and cycling all helped me get back on track, and now running doesn't aggravate my knees. Don't get me wrong, at soon to be 56 years old, I have achy knees sometimes (all the time!), but running doesn't make it worse. Actually, running has made that better.
Ok, maybe I can try to sleep again!
