Question from a beginning calf muscle ache

KateMiddleton

Hey i'm a TOTAL beginner I prefer lifting weights but i figure not being able to run 5km at 30 is a bit scary and I should make the effort with cardio. So i've been trying to build up to 5km not exactly regularly but maybe twice a week but lately i've experienced an ache in my left calf. i had been doing couch to 5km and it was fine but now i'm trying to run 3km straight i get this ache and i want to stop. Any tips

KateMiddleton

obviously the title should say beginner. God i'm brain dead today. I'm not sure how to change it

Clearlier

If you've hurt it then see a physio. If it's just aching because it's been asked to do things that it isn't used to doing then rest it for a day or two. Then do a shorter run that you can manage relatively easily and think about stretching your baby cows afterwards.

chinguetti

Do you do any stretches? They will help but it will take time. However your best bet might be to go and get it checked out and get the right stretches from a physio.

Good luck with the running

ecoli

If this is an ache you have gotten trying to run that distance as opposed to something that came on I would say not an injury and is your body adapting to the running here are some suggestions:

Address hydration: this can be the cause of alot of calf aches and tightness. You need to be drinking a couple of litres a day.

Stretching: Aim to make this part of your every day routine these do not have to be before or after a run but simply any 10-15 min window you have during the day

Slow the run down: Keep this at a pace in which you can hold a conversation with someone if you cant rule of thumb means you working too hard

Mod: However if it is a pain which has come on I suggest you go see a physio/ sports therapist as medical advice is in breach of the forum charter and as such any medical advice will be deleted and thread closed

Pherekydes

Maybe you're running too fast to begin with. Maybe you run on your toes (too much). Does it improve after a short recovery walk?

dahat

Had similar type aches and i reckon hydration and stretching helped me an awful lot.
Touch wood they seem to be gone now and i am running better for it..

Jet Black

Could it be running on hard ground? I had the same problem last year when I started the c25k and found running on the grass much easier. It started to hurt about halfway through a run. It was a couple of weeks in before there was no pain.

KateMiddleton

Pherekydes wrote: »

Maybe you're running too fast to begin with. Maybe you run on your toes (too much). Does it improve after a short recovery walk?

I do run on my toes kinda mid foot really. It's not really pain more ache. It's also probably the hard ground I'm running on the footpath. OK I'll try more stretching so. I just thought it was bad to stretch cold muscles?

Mr Slow

Have you had your Gait checked?

If not get it done in a running store and not a sports shop, if you're for example naturally a heel striker and your runners have you landing on your forefoot then getting the correct runners should help greatly.

KateMiddleton

i'm wearing vibrams because i find them really comfy. I find if I strike with my heel my knees hurt after a while

menoscemo

KateMiddleton wrote: »

i'm wearing vibrams because i find them really comfy.

You could have said that in your OP!!
That'll be why you are getting sore calfs, your body is used to having a drop from heel to toe. Anybody that switches from standard runner to more minimal ones experiences sore/tight calfs. Build the distance slow and try some calf strengthening excercises and you should be OK.

RoyMcC

KateMiddleton wrote: »

i'm wearing vibrams because i find them really comfy. I find if I strike with my heel my knees hurt after a while

:eek:

I'm surprised you've not got more than sore calves heel-striking in Vibrams! You'll wreck your legs.

There's your answer right there Kate. A beginner ought to be very wary about wearing that type of shoe. Use a more standard shoe and be very sparing with the Vibrams - build your time up in them slowly.

KateMiddleton

NO i land on my midfoot/ball of my foot I find it more comfy usually. I wear vibrams alot for walking. I find in ordinary runners i land on my heel which feels kinda jarring

Mr Slow

KateMiddleton wrote: »

NO i land on my midfoot/ball of my foot I find it more comfy usually. I wear vibrams alot for walking. I find in ordinary runners i land on my heel which feels kinda jarring

There are plenty of runners to bridge the gap, get thee to a running store!

menoscemo

KateMiddleton wrote: »

NO i land on my midfoot/ball of my foot I find it more comfy usually. I wear vibrams alot for walking. I find in ordinary runners i land on my heel which feels kinda jarring

By landing on yopur midfoot/ball of your foot you are putting more pressure on your calfs hence the stifffness pain. That's not in itself a bad thing you just have to let your calfs get used to it. Since you are just beginning at running just build up your distances gradually and you should be fine.