I am 42 years old. I started running about 3 or 4 years ago, primarily to maintain my health and to control my weight. Around last year, I began taking running more seriously. From May 21 last year to April 30 this year, I ran a total of 1,393 kilometers. Running has been very effective for weight loss—I’ve lost 15 kilograms.
My current issue is that I have chronic pain in my right heel. It’s not severe enough to affect my daily life, but I can feel it there. When I run longer distances, I can noticeably feel my left leg getting fatigued earlier due to compensation. So my questions are: generally speaking, how many kilometers per week is reasonable to run? And do you have any advice regarding this chronic heel pain? I’ve been using a pain relief spray, which helps to some extent, but I’m looking for a more long-term solution. I suspect that this pain might has something to do with my first attempt at running a half marathon. Back then, around the 19-kilometer mark, I already felt pain in my right foot, but I thought I would never try a half marathon again in my life, so I decided to push through and finish. That’s when this problem started.