Most runners think at various stages of their running lives, why can’t I run anymore? As a runner, there is nothing worse than having the thought that you are not able to run anymore.
Why Can’t I Run Anymore
There are many reasons why I feel that I can’t run anymore. Some people may have to stop running altogether, whereas other runners have just slowed down and can’t get their mojo back. I will outline the reasons for both and then go into each in more detail later.
These are
- Running Injuries
- Colds and Flu
- Taken a long break
- Iron deficiency
- Not eating properly
- Not taking adequate rest days
- No variation of our runs
- Lack of sleep
- Too Stressed
I will now look at each of these in more detail and explain how they affect our running.
Running Injuries
These are the bane of all runners. Depending on the running injury, we may need to take a break from running for a while though some injuries may stop us from running altogether. There are various injuries that runners suffer from, including:
Runner’s knee
This is a dull pain around the front of the knee. It may be caused by a structural defect or a particular way of walking or running. Symptoms include pain and rubbing, grinding, or a clicking sound of the kneecap. It will generally go away in 4 to 6 weeks if we stop running. Still, if we neglect the runner’s knee and keep running, it could become permanent as you may develop osteoarthritis in your knee, forcing you to stop running altogether.
Iliotibial band syndrome
When a tendon called the iliotibial band gets irritated or swollen from rubbing against your hip or knee bones. The tendon is on the outside of your leg and goes from the top of your pelvic bone down to your knee. It rubs against your bones when it gets too tight. If you don’t give yourself a break from running or other strenuous activities and fail to seek treatment to resolve the source of the pain, ITBS can become chronic. The condition may take several weeks to resolve with proper rest or even up to several months in severe cases. Sometimes you can only walk but not run.
Achilles Tendonitis
This is an overuse injury of the Achilles tendon, the band of tissue that connects calf muscles at the back of the lower leg to your heel bone. You can continue running in many cases of Achilles tendonitis if your Achilles pain follows a predictable pattern of easing within days of running. However, if your symptoms worsen, you must rest from running to allow time for your Achilles tendon to heal properly. Achilles Tendonitis can be very painful. Therefore, it’s essential to treat Achilles tendonitis. Otherwise, it can become a chronic problem, making walking difficult.
Shin Splints
These are pain along the shin bones (tibia) — the large bone in the front of your lower leg. Shin splints are common in runners, dancers, and military recruits. Medically known as medial tibial stress syndrome, shin splints often occur in athletes who have recently intensified or changed their training routines. The increased activity overworks the muscles, tendons, and bone tissue.
Stress fractures
These are tiny cracks caused by repetitive, high-impact exercise. Treatment includes getting adequate rest and backing off intense exercise until it heals. Severe or hard-to-heal fractures may require crutches, wearing a cast, or surgery. Full recovery can take 4 to 12 weeks.
Plantar fasciitis
This is one of the most common causes of heel pain. It involves inflammation of a thick band of tissue that runs across the bottom of each foot and connects the heel bone to the toes. Taking time off from certain exercises, like running, is essential to give the plantar fascia time to heal. Most people recover completely with a few months of conservative treatment.
Torn calves/ hamstrings/ankle ligaments
If you have a torn calf, hamstring, or ankle ligaments, you need to stop running immediately, as you will make it worse if you keep running on it.
Colds and Flus
When you suffer from a cold and flu, you must be careful. A good rule of thumb is to consider the location of your symptoms. For example, when your symptoms are located above your neck, you may be able to run safely but maybe run easier.
Avoid running if you have more severe symptoms. This includes fever and any symptoms that are below your neck, such as:
- fatigue
- chest congestion
- chest tightness
- hacking cough
- trouble breathing
- upset stomach
- nausea
- vomiting
- muscle or joint aches
These symptoms may indicate a more severe sickness. Therefore, it is essential to stop running and allow our bodies to recover.
Taken A Long Break
If you have ever taken a long break from running, you will know how hard it is to get back from running. You sometimes ask yourself why I can’t run anymore as you seem to be putting in the effort but getting nowhere fast.
Iron Deficiency
Red blood cells, which contain hemoglobin (an iron-containing protein), transport oxygen to your working muscles when you run. If you have low iron levels, you will generate fewer red blood cells, and your hemoglobin levels will decline. Therefore, less oxygen will be transported to your muscles, and running performance will suffer. In addition, another part of the iron equation is your ferritin levels. Ferritin is an iron storage protein; your body uses it to hold on to iron atoms until they’re needed, whether for making hemoglobin or any other proteins in your body that include iron.
Not Eating Properly
If we don’t eat properly before running, they will have that dead legs feeling during their runs, resulting in them being unable to reach their goal pace and finding it harder to recover after runs. That dead legs feeling makes us wonder why we can’t run anymore.
Not Taking Adequate Rest Days
When we run or do any exercise regularly, we must take our rest days to allow our muscles and body to recover. Therefore, we should at least take one day of complete rest and, if possible, take two days.
If we don’t take these rest days, our body will eventually break down; it will also show signs of fatigue, making us think that our running is going nowhere as we will slow down drastically.
No variation of our runs
When training, we need to vary our runs between distances and speeds.
We should do one long slow run each week, 1-speed session, and one tempo session. If we run on other days, these should be slow days. We must mix these types of runs to make us better runners. If we don’t vary our runs and just run the same distance at the same speed every time we go out, we will eventually suffer burnout, and when this happens, our pace will slow dramatically.
Lack Of Sleep
Sleep is essential for running. Running on no sleep risks are injury, illness, poor performance, and overtraining syndrome. This is because not getting enough sleep as a runner doesn’t allow time for your body to do what it needs to repair itself, and it doesn’t have as much fuel or energy.
Too Stressed
Running can be a mental sport. So it makes sense that you’re less likely to be at your best if you’re stressed or down. New research suggests this connection may be more apparent than we realized and that stress can impair running performance and recovery.
Final Thoughts
We have now looked at the various reasons why runners can’t run anymore or why they think they can’t run anymore.
These are
- Running Injuries
- Colds and Flu
- Taken a long break
- Iron deficiency
- Not eating properly
- Not taking adequate rest days
- No variation of our runs
- Lack of sleep
- Too Stressed
