Legs very sore and struggling to run

[redrabbit29]

This has been going on for a few weeks now and I've not really been running much at all. I know I am not injured, but I do feel really uncomfortable for some reason. Most of my body seems to be aching a lot, my legs in particular.

Yesterday I did a club run, 60 minutes, 11 minutes per mile. Very slow but even so my legs were painful the whole way, particularly the inside areas near to my ankles and inner shins - feels similar to shin splints. I just felt heavy and it hurt. This was my first run for about 5 days as I decided to rest.

My left hip also hurts, a dull ache and throbbing pain.

FInally, as I am sat here both my calves are hurting, both feel tense (despite using a massage gun and stretching).

I'm thinking of starting swimming again and turbo training (used to do a lot more triathlon training). It's a shame as I WFH and enjoy the social element of just being around people and the routine of going to a club run every Monday and Wednesday.

Has anyone else had similar, where your legs just seem to ache and hurt yet you're not injured and you're not over training?

Edited by redrabbit29 on Tuesday 4th July 08:35

[Pieman68]

Any other underlying health conditions? I'm diabetic and muscle soreness is a side effect of blood sugars being high

Worth speaking to a doctor, maybe some blood tests to see if there's something else going on

[redrabbit29]

Hey,

None and I'm very fortunate to be healthy.

Age: 39
Weight: Probably a stone overweight but working on this
Diet: Overall fair, eat mainly decent stuff
Alcohol: Have in the past drank a lot but not much in the last few months as I'm soon to start training for a marathon

No other conditions or issues that I am aware of.

The only thing that has been a problem recently has been sleep. I've barely slept well for 3 weeks other than the odd night. Last night I slept well after 3-4 sleepless ones. Not sure why, I often get sleep issues for no reason. I know sleep really impacts recovery so that could be a problem.

Thanks

[Piginapoke]

Are you a seasoned runner? If you’re significantly stepping up distance expect a few aches and pains and also fatigue. If not, get yourself checked out.

[redrabbit29]

Piginapoke said:

Are you a seasoned runner? If you’re significantly stepping up distance expect a few aches and pains and also fatigue. If not, get yourself checked out.

Yes and no is the answer.

I did a lot of running last year and triathlons. Stopped for about 2-3 months due to personal reasons. Bit stop/start but I'm not new as such but I am getting back into it.

However, my worry was that the mileage really isn't that much. It's about 7-8 miles per week, over maybe 2 runs or 3 runs.

Thanks for the advice. I am lucky enough to have some good healthcare options with my new jobs so I will look into what is available there

[Belle427]

Don't overlook your footwear either.
Some softer soled trainers play havoc with my calves.

[anonymous-user]

redrabbit29 said:

This has been going on for a few weeks now and I've not really been running much at all. I know I am not injured, but I do feel really uncomfortable for some reason. Most of my body seems to be aching a lot, my legs in particular.

Yesterday I did a club run, 60 minutes, 11 minutes per mile. Very slow but even so my legs were painful the whole way, particularly the inside areas near to my ankles and inner shins - feels similar to shin splints. I just felt heavy and it hurt. This was my first run for about 5 days as I decided to rest.

My left hip also hurts, a dull ache and throbbing pain.

FInally, as I am sat here both my calves are hurting, both feel tense (despite using a massage gun and stretching).

There are a few things going on here by the sound of it.

The general ache/fatigue: yes, have been through that. Could be any one of a number of things. Sleep and hydration are perhaps the simplest and most overlooked culprits. Beyond that, hard to say.

Tight sore calves: fore foot, mid foot or front foot striker, changed your shoes or gait recently? Upped your tempo? Other possible causes: tight glutes and/or hamstrings can mean other muscles get overstretched.

The potential red flag though: the dull ache and throbbing in your hip. Hip means different things to different people I’ve found: iliac crest, outside of the hip (where your waistband would be if you pulled it down the the widest part of your arse), or more in the crease of your groin.

Outside of the hip is likely to be IT band. Plenty of stretches available for that. Groin area: do a hop test. Hop five times (gently) on each leg. If you have throbbing pain on one side on each impact, that subsides slowly after you’ve hopped, get yourself checked (MRI) for a femoral stress fracture. Not something you want to mess around with; you can’t run through it as the femur will fracture before it heals. And sometimes the fix will involves screws and a surgeon.

Stress fractures and IT band issues don’t require mega mileages. A small misalignment in your gait, hammered 90 times a minute can create some issues quite fast.

Good luck.

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 4th July 10:54

[wyson]

Did you get gait analysis and a proper shoe?

Also sounds like diet. Eating anything ultra processed reduces my performance. Fried chicken is a killer. My legs feel like lead the next day.

[redrabbit29]

Belle427 said:

Don't overlook your footwear either.
Some softer soled trainers play havoc with my calves.

Thanks - I don't think the trainers are an issue. I have done about 187 miles in them and almost all have been great until now. Will keep an eye on it though as I know it can change sometimes.

wyson said:

Did you get gait analysis and a proper shoe? Also sounds like diet. Eating anything ultra processed reduces my performance. Fried chicken is a killer. My legs feel like lead the next day.

I have decent trainers, I have a mild over pronation so these ones I have are supportive/stability shoes. I've been through lots of brands and generally know which suit me best. The ones I have now have been excellent so I think I can write this off.

Diet is mostly good but has been inconsistent. I got into the habit of drinking tons of diet coke and not eating as well as normal. I've changed that now and back to being strict.

I still think it's probably muscular or tightness but the other things are just good to keep in check I think

Thanks!

BlackWidow13 said:

Sleep and hydration are perhaps the simplest and most overlooked culprits. Beyond that, hard to say.

Tight sore calves: fore foot, mid foot or front foot striker, changed your shoes or gait recently? Upped your tempo? Other possible causes: tight glutes and/or hamstrings can mean other muscles get overstretched.

The potential red flag though: the dull ache and throbbing in your hip. Hip means different things to different people I’ve found: iliac crest, outside of the hip (where your waistband would be if you pulled it down the the widest part of your arse), or more in the crease of your groin.

Outside of the hip is likely to be IT band. Plenty of stretches available for that. Groin area: do a hop test. Hop five times (gently) on each leg. If you have throbbing pain on one side on each impact, that subsides slowly after you’ve hopped, get yourself checked (MRI) for a femoral stress fracture. Not something you want to mess around with; you can’t run through it as the femur will fracture before it heals. And sometimes the fix will involves screws and a surgeon.

Stress fractures and IT band issues don’t require mega mileages. A small misalignment in your gait, hammered 90 times a minute can create some issues quite fast.

Good luck.

Thanks for that - I have tight hamstrings, always have and also due to deadlifting more recently, it could be increased wear on the posterior chain and hamstrings in general. I had considered my glutes too, as I am pretty sure they're not engaging properly. In fact on my list to do in the gym and at home is glute activation work like bridges, hip thrusts, clam shells etc.

I think the IT band could also be a problem and the groin feels tight - not painful but just a bit tight.

To be honest, I think it's tightness around the whole area of glutes, hamstrings and groin. My calves have always been tight but when I'm running well it gets way better and stops being an issue.

Thanks for your advice, really helpful. I think I'll focus on stretching more and doing some basic strength/conditioning.

[bigandclever]

redrabbit29 said:

also due to deadlifting more recently

So you're not only running, you're doing other training as well?

[anonymous-user]

redrabbit29 said:

Thanks for that - I have tight hamstrings, always have and also due to deadlifting more recently, it could be increased wear on the posterior chain and hamstrings in general. I had considered my glutes too, as I am pretty sure they're not engaging properly. In fact on my list to do in the gym and at home is glute activation work like bridges, hip thrusts, clam shells etc.

I think the IT band could also be a problem and the groin feels tight - not painful but just a bit tight.

To be honest, I think it's tightness around the whole area of glutes, hamstrings and groin. My calves have always been tight but when I'm running well it gets way better and stops being an issue.

Thanks for your advice, really helpful. I think I'll focus on stretching more and doing some basic strength/conditioning.

Glute and hammy activation: you can get them working in a gym with focussed exercises but if they aren’t activating while you’re running you’re carry around larger amounts of dead weight!

I found running drills useful - I’m naturally heavily quad-dominant. Things like slow running but focus on bringing your heels up high. And really letting your trailing leg hang out behind you and levering it up with the glute before folding it with the hamstring. Have a look at Mo Farah, or any of the other fast African marathoners on YT and watch the movement of their trailing leg once it’s behind their hip.

I found it helped to imagine two elastics, one from each shoulder blade, down to my hamstring and Achilles, pulling them up as I ran.

[redrabbit29]

bigandclever said:

So you're not only running, you're doing other training as well?

Yea that's correct. At present it is running about twice per week and weight training 3-4 on a Push/Pull/Legs routine. I've previously been a powerlifter and so it's quite nice to return to that.

I used to do swimming and biking but it's fizzled out a bit

BlackWidow13 said:

Glute and hammy activation: you can get them working in a gym with focussed exercises but if they aren’t activating while you’re running you’re carry around larger amounts of dead weight!

I found running drills useful - I’m naturally heavily quad-dominant. Things like slow running but focus on bringing your heels up high. And really letting your trailing leg hang out behind you and levering it up with the glute before folding it with the hamstring. Have a look at Mo Farah, or any of the other fast African marathoners on YT and watch the movement of their trailing leg once it’s behind their hip.

I found it helped to imagine two elastics, one from each shoulder blade, down to my hamstring and Achilles, pulling them up as I ran.

That sounds good, I like teh running exercises you mentioned. My two runs a week include one which is a track session.

I will add some of those other training drills in as well, plus try to imagine the elastics like you say.