Gander - Advice
 

Gander, I understand you are the man to go to when seeking some jogging advice. To give you some background: I had knee surgery on my left knee 4 years ago, I also have bone on bone and tendenitis in the same knee. I have been taking a supplement to build up the cartlidge in the knee so the bone doesnt rub and I also have been doing exercises on the knee to get rid of the tendinitis. I decided to test my knee last night by doing a real real real light job. I prob went about 3/10th's of a mile. I woke to no soreness or swelling. I also did light jogging tonight and so far so good. My question to you is this--What kind of running schedule would you suggest for a man who has not exercised in 10+ years with the knee problems that I have? I also am 6'1 and I weight 263. I was real real tired after doing that light jogging. Please advise and thanks in advance and please be sensitive to any stupid questions I may ask.

Euro- Given your knee history and size, and 10 years of inactivity, I would start out very short and gradually increase. The bigger you are the more pressure your recently repaired knee is going to have to endure. Its very good you woke up with no soreness.

Maybe start the first few weeks by running 1/2 mile every other day at around a 10 min/mile pace. Get 2 weeks under your belt and if you feel up to it start increaing your runs appx 1/2 mile with every new week until you get up to about 3 miles then only increase 10%. Find a distance and pace that works well for you. You wont want to be running the same pace all the time, nor the same distance. I would obviously avoid sprints due to your knee.

Good luck.

Thanks Gander. I do appreciate your input.

Not a problem, I like helping people out when it comes to fitness. I have to go out and get new sneakers, after last night's run I could barely walk my shin splints were acting up real bad, always a sign that my sneakers are ready to be thrown away. Not thrilled that this particular pair only gave me 3 months. Now another $90-100 I have to spend that I wont be able to bet with :(

Three (3) months? How many miles a week do you log?

Ez

Depends. Anywhere between 20 and 28 miles per week. Some days are mainly speed intervals. Figure I should be getting between 400-500 miles per each pair of shoes. Maybe its the unusual pattern I have had this week...Since Sunday, only 2 runs and both were 7 miles, which is a bit odd for me. Usually I keep my runs from 4 to 6.

High-speed walking is also an option. I quit running long before I hurt myself simply because I'm not much of a runner and switched instead to walking. I find it much more satisfying in that as a runner, I was an ultrashort sprinter limited to about 100m (there are not too many 100m "fun runs" out there) but as a walker, I can finish marathons. In 10 years, I've never had an exercise- or competition-related injury.

Walking does not have the cachet that running does, but high-speed walking can confer realistic cardiovascular benefit and increase bone mass without the higher risk of damage that jogging or running poses. Walking tends to get pegged as a distant second-preferred alternative for people too unfit or unsound to run, and often ends up as a last resort for runners who have accumulated too much damage to run anymore, but trust me, if you're walking with sufficient intensity, you're getting plenty out of it. As a non-racewalker, I can do 11:20 miles, averaged 13:20 miles in my most recent marathon and am almost as fast up and down steep grades and on uneven terrain.