Am I not cut out for running??
 

I recently started cultivating a daily exercise routine as a lifestyle rather than an every once in a while thing when I all of the sudden want to be healthy but the next day forget all about it. I started out slow with myself, because I knew it was the only way to fully integrate it into my lifestyle. I started by driving to a park every morning for a short walk. That turned into waking up and doing a bit of yoga and then leaving for my walk. By this point I've progressed to every other day doing a work out routine at home (weight lifting, yoga, etc.) and the days I don't do that I go on my walks. But a couple of weeks ago I decided I wanted to get into running. So I decided that for a couple of minutes during my morning walk, I would run. So I did this for about a week straight and I felt fantastic. I felt energized and healthy and motivated and I couldn't believe I'd never tried it before.

Fast forward to after that week... I took a few days off of my walks to rest my legs a bit and when I went back for another go at the walking/running thing, the moment I started running my legs started hurting very badly around my knee area. Running wasn't impossible, but they hurt bad. They felt like a ligament or tendon sort of pain... I looked it up and it sounded a bit like runners knee, but I didn't think that the small amount of running I was doing could have caused it.

I decided to do more at home workouts, and only go for walks every once in a while until it healed up. It's now been a week and a half and it still hurts pretty bad when I walk for more than a minute. I researched the proper way to run (warm ups cool downs then stretching) and I'm way better prepared to do it now, but my legs won't seem to heal. Am I just being impatient or is this a serious issue? And am I just not the type of person who should be a runner, or did this happen just because I didn't do my research and didn't do everything properly..?

I've spent some time jogging & running but I'm not an expert on this. Running is very demanding on the body so it's important to stretch & warm up thoroughly before you start & if you haven't been doing that then it might be what's caused the damaged.
You should think about stopping all forms of exercise when you have an injury until you've spoken to a doctor.

About 6 to 9 months ago i had a similiar problem. Took a couple weeks off. Wouldnt go away. So i started running again but trying to take it easy. Still wouldnt go away.

Then finaly after a few months i bought some colloidial minerals. Within a couple days my strength came back. Then it completely went away. Since then i have had no problems. I have other reasons from my personal experience to believe in it. Problem for me is making a habit. But since this last injury im taking it habitually.

I don't know how you run, but it's important to do it correctly or you could have knee/ankle issues.

I personally think if you are not training for a race, you should jog for exercise instead of running. When you jog, it should be coming down on your feet from heel to toe, in a smooth, rounding way. Avoid bouncing up and down; that increases your chance of knee injury.

Make sure you're wearing athletic shoes specially designed for jogging. Jog in them for a few yards in the store to make sure they are comfortable and feel right with the way you would jog.

I hope this helps you out. I've been a jogger for about 15 years now (off and on, according to my busy schedule), and I love it. I've never had an injury.

An article that explains very well what is going on with knees and even hips regarding running (and walking). Search "Why The Heels On Modern Running Shoes Are Hurting Us" and you'll find the article (can't yet post links).

I have personal experience with one knee (for years) and one hip (on and off, but got worse several months before going toward barefoot). They've gotten much better after ditching knee and hip destroying shoes and correcting my gait, though not completely healed yet.
My advice is to run barefoot, as much as possible. And only use minimalistic shoes if you want to wear any. It takes time for feet to adjust and adapt, some months. At first, for a few months, especially lower calfs can be sore and tired and fatigued and painful (mine were), because having worn shoes all life the muscles are very atrophied. The muscles have to catch up with the rest of the body, this takes time.
Another thing is adjusting and adapting soles. I specifically exercised walking on a rather rough surface. At fist it was painful, only managed a few steps, but as the sole muscles adapted and adjusted I could walk farther and farther, now it's massage-like walking on such surface.

A forum where are people who've been at it for years. Though I'm not a member there myself. Search "thebarefootrunners" and you'll find the forum.

nummi - Welcome to SF. Barefoot running sounds great, especially on a sandy beach. Good soles are a must. I used to run all the time, running 5K races a lot until I broke my ankle and had to have a metal plate screwed into it because the bone broke vertically and in a twisting fashion. Since then, I can't take the pounding of running anymore. So what I had to do is change to an elliptical or stairmaster machine where the impact on my joints was less. Sure miss running in the outdoors though.

Incorrect running gait and lack of warm-up and warm-down can lead to many painful knee problems such as runners knee, patella tendonitis and other overuse injuries. I'd suggest a visit to the doctor, a blood test and investment in proper running shoes! I use orthotic insoles which has personally helped tremendously.

Also, quadriceps and hamstring muscle tension (especially IT band tension) can be underlying causes to many problems. Hope this helps, otherwise you have many other helpful posts to source from. All the best!

Compared to walking running is really hard on the body. Walking can be too done in excess but running can really do you in if you're not properly prepared. I am personally not made for it. I have ligament and bone issues, have had since childhood. Even as a kid in gym doing fitness I'd end up with hip problems, with shin splints. I was doing ballet several afternoons a week and that was exercise enough I would have thought but still my gym teachers were adamant that I was going to run a mile and pass their annual fitness test no matter what.

Turns out while my body could handle ballet okay it couldn't handle running. I collapsed one day in gym during the running part of fitness. My hip, the one that had been bothering me just gave out and I literally could not walk anymore let alone run. Turns out I had a congenital hip problem and the pounding from running was just too much for it. The tendon in my hip gave out and I was sidelined from any exercise and on crutches for several months because of it. The funny part was everyone thought I was faking it when I went down. The coach thought I was just whining. I wasn't. I was in some major pain and it was real.

I do walk for fitness and even with the walking I sometimes have issues. Likely if it's your knees you just have a ligament problem there, Runner's Knee and you need to back off the running for a while till it heals. But something caused it. Either you were running too much too fast, running on a bad surface, or running in bad shoes maybe. Or you may just have some skeletal issue going on that you're not aware of like I did. Did you do a check up before? Do you have problems with your knees in other situations? Backup start at the beginning and rethink it all. Likely the source of the problem will make itself known....

What kind of shoes were you wearing? I ask because shoes that have raised heels literally are designed to destroy knees and hips. How many people with knee and hip issues have you heard of? Personally, I've heard of far too many... myself included...
Raised heels force the heel first against the ground. But the parts of the foot hitting ground first should the middle section or the toes (when sprinting) or heel-center-toes at about the same time (when slower speed, like walking or jogging). The last part that should hit the ground is the heel.
When making a step, especially when running, a lot of force is created. Most of that force is supposed to be absorbed by the feet when the feet is supposed to "rotate" to make the heel hit the ground. But since raised heels prevent this from happening, because they force the heel first against the ground, then all that force in all its strength goes straight to the knees and up to the hips, even to the spine and gut, causing extensive bodily harm that's not limited to the feet.

Shoes ruin the entire body's posture and condition. And atrophy feet muscles-ligaments-joints-bones when worn for years (how many people for how long have worn raised-heel shoes? it's insane... and then they wonder why they have feet and joint issues, and never seem to find the cause because shoes are indoctrinated deep into their minds as "normal").
Back thousands of years, shoes were created only for rough surfaces that were impassable barefoot. Actually feeling the ground beneath the feet is so great. I even go barefoot into the forest to pick berries. Once had blueberry blue feet... Feeling the forest with my feet is so great. The soft moss and all the rest.

Joints can and do heal, but depending on the severity of damage, it can take many years, even decades. And have to give the body what it needs.

One thing ditching shoes or going for "minimalist" shoes does (flat, no raised heels), is that the destructive force and strain the raised heel shoes, that most people wear each and every day, force onto the joints, stops. Then can actually begin healing.
Trying to heal issues that are primarily (and also diet plays a huge role, as ever...) caused by wearing bad shoes, while not stopping to wear those bad shoes, is fruitless effort.

You may need to find a joint formula to help with your pain, eat healthy as well. You need lots of fuel for running.
Start with light joggs, when your heart can't it walk it off until you can jog again. Gradually your heart and muscles get stronger and you will want more and more to run.