Running... more pain!

Well, this is getting frustrating!  A little over a month ago I started training for a half-marathon, in the beginning of May.  I've never been a runner before, but I've suddenly found just how much I LOVE running!  It's amazing.  Anyway, my problem is that I feel like I'm constantly in some sort of pain, now.  First it was my back, and left knee...  Went to the doctor, he decided it had to do with hip strength, and I've been doing stretches that have pretty much made that pain go away.  Yesterday was my longest run yet (only a little over 6 miles...  but hey, for me that's a lot!), and hours later, my knee SUDDENLY started hurting a TON.  I woke up almost every hour last night, because it was impossible to lie in such a way that wouldn't hurt my knee.  But it's a different kind of pain/area than before, so I don't know what's going on.  Additionally, my ankle felt a little funky when I started my run yesterday... that gradually sort of moved to the backish part of my heel.  So now that hurts when I walk, too.  I briefly looked it up online, but it's hard to tell what exactly it could be.  Any suggestions?!  I'm getting really frustrated, because I WANT to run, but I can't.  In fact, I should be at the gym right now, but I think I might have to force myself to not go, which makes me mad (yeaaah, sort of obsessed sometimes).

For the record, I'm 19 (20 in just one week!  woo!), female... about 110 lbs...

No one knows about this heel pain?  :-\  I've taken two days off and feel super bad about it, but it still feels weird...

I had a lot of knee problems from running.  My doctor said it was related to the flatness of my feet (which caused the impact to be on the inside of my knee).  She sent me to an orthotics specialist and I got custom orthotics that go inside my running shoes.  They were about $300 but covered by my insurance.  I still find that even with the orthotics I get some joint pain if I exceed 4 miles of running a day, so now I do a combination of elliptical and running to get a total of about 7.5-8 miles daily, and I don't have any joint pain.  Also I found that running more on a treadmill (rather than concrete or asphalt) was much better for my knees, but to keep it even as far as intensity is concerned, I always run on an incline of about 2%.

Hope that helps.

Heel pain could be your Achilles tendon. I think you should go to the doctor or take it real easy for a few days and see how it feels. You don't want to injure it even more.

I've  had heel pain before - basically, I just stepped down on my foot wrong and it was like I pinched a nerve or something. It hurt pretty bad - even just to walk. I pretty much iced it, took a few days off from running and it was fine in about 3 or 4 days.

As for the rest of your "pain" - I would say that some of it is probably just from being new to running. You only started running about a month and a half ago - and are already running 6 miles. That's great!!! (must be nice to be young.....when I started running about 1.5 years ago, it took me damn near a year to run 6 miles!!!!)

Keep in mind that your ligaments and tendons develop a lot more slowly than the larger muscles (like your calves and thighs). You might want to do some strength training to help develop the weaker areas and help them "catch up" to the rest of your lower body. I found that doing lunges and squats really helped me become a better runner (both from an endurance standpoint and a speed standpoint).

Give your body time to adjust to your new hobby. It's a lot of jolting around for your joints to get used to!

Good luck with your half-marathon!!

I've been running for just over a year now and have just gotten brave enough to train for a half marathon.  How much are you running in a week?  I am following the Beginner Marathon training guide in the Runner's World Women's Book of Running.  I only run four days a week, with Sunday being my long run.  For example, this week I run 20 minutes tonight, 40 minutes on Wed., 30 minutes on Fri. and 90 minutes on Sunday.  Mon. and Thurs. I crosstrain on the recumbent bike and weight train.  Saturday is a total day off from exercise.  I also stretch, stretch, and stretch some more.  The book is really informative, as is the Runner's World magazine that comes out each month. 

The stretching is really important, especially for the Achilles tendon at the back of the heel, for hamstrings, and for the iliotibial band that runs from your hip to your knee.  Heel pain could be your achilles or could be plantar faschitis or something entirely different.  If it's your achilles, you'll want to do some research or see your doctor to make sure you don't damage it enough to need surgery. 

It takes time to build yourself up for long distance running.  You also want to be sure you don't overtrain, as that is when injuries tend to happen.  Off days and crosstraining days help your body repair the damage you've done while running, which helps build strength for your next run. 

Best of luck with getting recuperated.  Good luck with your training for your race.  My half marathon is the last weekend of April.

You're doing wayyy too much too soon, and if you persist, you'll end your running career prematurely.

The heel pain is likely your achilles tendon. As fitnessfreak said, ligaments and tendons take longer to strengthen than muscles. This is why it is common for new runners to experience injury around the 8-12 week mark. That is the window of time when the muscles and cardio system are strong enough to give you the sense you can do way more than your ligaments and tendons are ready for!

Achilles injuries can be very difficult to get over. When I was your age, I got a small, minor tear in my achilles tendon (actually while skiing, not running). I didn't give it a chance to heal properly, and it got worse. I ended up in pain for 6 months, with lingering issues up to 1 year. I would highly recommend you take a break from running for a week and ice your heel.

Do you find that high heels are more comfortable than flats? I remember that was the case with my achilles injury. Also ice did wonders, while heat made it a lot worse. And walking was very painful for a long time.

As for your plans to run a half-marathon, I think you're making the number one new runner mistake, and that's being too ambitious. If you love running (and I do too!) then you want to be able to run for the rest of your life, don't you??

The advice I've gotten from more experienced runners is this: for the first year of running, don't run any races. Don't do any "programs." Just run for fun. Build up your base mileage slowly. Always do LESS than you think you can do. Don't run every single day. For the first year, try every other day, to give yourself time to heal and repair. And then every few months, take a whole week off.

Definetly get a gait analysis to rule out pronation issues that may be contributing.

I'm 42 and I wish I'd taken this advice... I spent a lot of time sidelined by injuries!! It wasn't my knee though... always either my back or my hip. And always caused by getting too ambitious for my own good. :-(

Wow, thanks to EVERYONE for all the great replies.  I have a killer quantum test to study for tomorrow, but I'll read all of them more thorougly later tonight when I feel I can take the time.  I'll definately look into everything everyone said!

I did some quick google searches for stuff about the Achilles tendon, so I'll keep that in mind for sure.

I also made another appointment with a sports doctor here at school.  The earliest time they had was friday, so it's a few days from now, but at least I know I'll have good, professional advice then.  I talked to him about the half-marathon when I went a few weeks ago, and he thought it was doable for me, but I guess if things persist, I'll have to cut back.  Makes me sad. :(  But you're right, I'd rather not do this now, and be able to run for longer!

Thanks again, everyone!!!