Knee Discomfort

[zozobythesea]

Hello
So glad I bought the Get Running app - it is fab! I've tried running in the past but never stuck with it consistently. It's great to have everything laid out for you and I actually look forward to running now - which is a miracle.
I have a question for everyone out there.
I'm due to start week four in two days time.
I was doing great with the runs. So much so that I pushed the boat out a bit during the final three-minute-long run of week three run one and added a couple of minutes onto that run (uphill.) The next day I felt my knees jarring as I walked - which gave more of a feeling of discomfort than pain - but thought little of it, presuming it was muscle ache from the increased runs. However when I completed run two of week three I could really feel it in my knees, especially at the beginning of the runs. However the discomfort seemed to get less the more I ran so I ploughed on and yesterday completed run three of week three. Well I completed the runs yesterday at snail's pace - the discomfort was such that I didn't feel I could go on but forced myself to finish everything.
Has anyone else had this problem?
I think maybe I need to get fitted for some proper running shoes (I use mass manfactured Reeboks but think maybe they're not suitable for my gait.) Although I'm not keen on spending a fortune on running shoes, especially if the problem recurs and it looks like I may need to give up running altogether. In the meantime should I take a week off and rest the knees? Or should I just run through it? I have considered trying to run on compacted sand at the beach for my next run (I live by the seaside. I used to run on sand when I lived in Australia many years ago which seemed to help me get round the painful knees issue back then although I have since read that running on sand can actually be really bad for knees.)
I really don't want to miss a week but I don't want to end up crippling myself either!
Any suggestions would be gratefully received.
Thank you!
zozo

[benjohn]

Hi Zozo,

Got to take my son to nursery, so just a quick reply, sorry!

I'd definitely take a look at the shoes. Find a specialist running shop that is staffed by runners. They shouldn't pressure you to buy very expensive shoes. They should offer you a selection of shoes that are more suitable for you, rather than just a random shoe, and let you decide the price by picking from that range.

Hope that will help!