Tired What Can I Do About This?

I ran cross country varsity last year and ran 5k races. This year my hip started hurting really badly. It still hurts but it has become a more bearable pain. Now I feel like I can't even run a mile and a half without getting really tired. How do I not get tired so fast???

– Jadelynn, Galena

Answer by Dom: Jadelynn, I'm sorry your hip is still hurting. Your tiredness is a clue, not a lack of toughness. My advice: stop running for now and see a doctor as soon as you can.

1. Why a sore hip makes you tire so fast
2. See a doctor before anything else
3. Keep your fitness while you wait
4. Coming back once you are cleared

Why a sore hip makes you tire so fast

You went from racing 5k (3.1 miles) to struggling at 1.5 miles (about 2.4 km). That drop is not in your head. I can't tell you what is wrong with your hip from here, only a doctor can, but I can explain why this happens.

First, pain changes how you run. Your body shortens your stride, tilts your pelvis and leans away from the sore side without you noticing. Each of those changes makes running less efficient, so the same pace costs more effort. Second, you have almost certainly run less since the pain began. Fitness fades faster than most people expect — a few weeks of reduced mileage is enough to feel it. Third, your body is working to protect and repair something. That takes energy too.

Here is the part I want you to take seriously. Your pain eased, but your tiredness got worse. That is your body saying something is not right. Running injuries around the hip range from bursitis (inflammation of the small fluid-filled cushion over the outside of the hip joint) all the way to a stress fracture, a tiny crack in the bone caused by repeated impact. Stress fractures are more common in distance runners, and they can feel "more bearable" for a while before they get worse. Easing pain does not mean it is healed.

See a doctor before anything else

Book an appointment this week. Tell a parent, your coach or your school athletic trainer today — they can help you get seen quickly and will want to know. Please don't run "just to test it" first.

To make the visit useful, write down a few things beforehand:

• When the pain started and whether it came on suddenly or slowly
• Exactly where it hurts — the front of the hip or groin, the side, or the buttock
• What makes it better or worse, and how many miles you were running each week

Expect questions about all of that, plus a physical check of how your hip moves and how you walk. Your doctor may order an X-ray or a scan, because some bone injuries do not show up on a basic X-ray at first.

Also mention the tiredness itself. Fatigue has other causes worth ruling out — poor sleep, low iron, not eating enough for the training you do, or a packed school and sports schedule. Girls and young women in hard training are more prone to low iron, and a simple blood test can check it.

Go sooner, and don't wait for the appointment, if you have any of these red flags:

• Pain at night or while resting
• You can't put your full weight on the leg, or you limp
• Pain in the groin or the front of the hip that is getting worse

In that case, tell an adult straight away and get seen the same day if you can.

Keep your fitness while you wait

Resting does not mean sitting still all day. It means no running and nothing that makes the hip hurt. Ask the doctor which activities are safe for you. Until you hear back, the rule is simple: if it hurts, stop.

If your doctor agrees, these are the usual choices for keeping your engine ticking over:

• Swimming: easy lengths, 20 to 30 minutes, three times a week. Avoid breaststroke kick if it pinches the hip.
• Pool running — running in deep water with a flotation belt, feet not touching the bottom. It copies the running motion without the pounding. Start with 20 minutes at an easy effort.
• Upper-body and gentle core work: planks and arm exercises, only if they are pain-free.

Keep it at a 3 to 4 out of 10 effort. That is RPE (rate of perceived exertion, a 1 to 10 scale where 1 is very easy and 10 is all-out). You should be able to chat. Even walking can be too much if it hurts — if your hip complains, stop and ask the doctor first.

For soreness, you can ice the hip for 10 to 15 minutes, with a cloth between the ice pack and your skin. Never press ice straight onto the skin, and don't chase numbness. Stop if the skin turns bright red or the pain gets sharper.

Eat well and sleep properly during this time. Your body repairs itself while you rest, and that is real training too.

Coming back once you are cleared

Do not start again until your doctor says yes. When they do, you will not return to 5k. You will build up slowly, and it may feel painfully easy. That is the point.

Here is a sensible starting plan, assuming you are walking comfortably and pain-free first:

• Week 1: 10 minutes total. Jog 1 minute, walk 2 minutes, repeat 3 or 4 times. Three days a week, with a rest day between each.
• Week 2: 15 minutes. Jog 2 minutes, walk 1 minute, repeat 5 times.
• Week 3: 20 minutes. Jog 4 minutes, walk 1 minute, repeat 4 times.
• Week 4: 20 to 25 minutes of continuous easy running, so about 1.5 to 2 miles (2.4 to 3.2 km).

Every run must follow one rule: no pain during, no pain after, and no pain the next morning. If you get any of the three, drop back a week, or a step, and tell your doctor or athletic trainer. After that, add no more than about 10 percent to your weekly running time, and take a lighter consolidation week every fourth week.

Your pace should be easy running, the kind where you could chat with a teammate. Leave speedwork and hills until you have run 4 or 5 weeks pain-free. Be patient, because that is how you get back to racing 5k and stay there.

Jadelynn, you worked hard to make varsity, and that determination will help you now. Do the boring thing first — see the doctor, rest, build back slowly. Your next 5k will be worth the wait.

Kind regards,
Dom

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