Legs Ache

Question
I used to run alot a few years ago, and have recently started again to try to lose some weight.  The first two weeks were great, but now I have found that when I try to go out running, my legs ache too much.  They don't hurt before hand - til I try to run then they start aching. Too much to continue running. I can't even run a block now, where I was running about 12kms every second day.  What could be causing this?

Answer
Hi David,

I've been reading a lot of questions like yours lately... 12km every other day is a lot of mileage if you are starting back up again after a long layoff.

If your legs are experiencing a general aching (and it抯 not a sharp pain focused on a specific area), then it sounds to me like you抳e started up your routine a little too aggressively. Take 1-2 weeks off from running to rest your body (try some cross training if you are itching to do something when you aren抰 running). When you start back up again, scale down your mileage for the first few weeks, and do not increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% from one week to the next. You have to give your body time to acclimate to the pounding.

Good luck,
Greg