My knee’s been achy for the last several runs, right under the kneecap, worse on the side where the sidewalk tilts toward the street. Didn’t want to just push through it, so here’s what I changed instead.
– Stopped running on back-to-back days — now it’s a run day, then a walk day, even when I feel fine, since the soreness always shows up the morning after stacked run days, not during the run itself.
– Moved off the loop with that constant camber and started doing an out-and-back on the flatter street by the park. Small change, but it helped fast!
– Added a slow walk before jogging instead of starting cold, and switched to icing after the run instead of before — icing beforehand just numbed things enough that I’d overdo it.
The ache hasn’t disappeared, but it’s stopped getting worse and isn’t flaring up after every run anymore. Holding off on new shoes for now, to see if the schedule change is enough on its own before I spend money on it. Figured I’d write it down in case it helps anyone else who just started running and is dealing with the same thing.