Last night I managed my 4th run over 10k (10.3 to be exact!), but around 8k my achilles was sore, so I slowed up and all was fine. Last week I found I was getting some intermittent calf pain whilst running and a sore foot on completing the 10k, but was fine on the 5k parkrun... I've also got an ongoing niggly hamstring (for several months now), that the physio has checked and feels is fine to keep running on.
I currently run 3 times a week- a short run (often Intervals, using NHS podcast Speed), one long run (10k now) and one 5k (Parkrun). I dog walk around 3-10k on most 'rest days'.
Am I over doing it? I was thinking of training for a half marathon later in the year... Would some strength training keep the niggles away?
Thank you!
Written by
WhizzyTwix
Graduate10
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Have you got yourself a foam roller yet? Are you stretching after your runs? Tight muscles can cause quite a bit of discomfort and so it’s worth trying to “iron” these out, especially calves.
Where exactly is your foot sore?
And yes to strength training. It’s especially important when you increase distance and you don’t have to do a lot to see an improvement. Have a look at some YouTube videos for the right exercises for your niggly areas.
Thank you for your reply Irishprincess! I do have a roller which I use pre and post run and I stretch religiously after every run. My foot is sore on the side of my foot kind of in the middle between my little toe and heel, sort of a dull ache after a long run.
Feet can get sore after long runs, they woke really hard! Roll a golf ball or a small bottle of iced water under your foot. Or you can massage them yourself. I give mine a good workout when I’m sitting watching TV 🙂
It might be worth consolidating at 10 k for a few weeks WhizzyTwix, to see if the niggles go before extendIng further. Post run stretches are really important at this level as tendons and ligaments shorten after running.
I was in a similar position to you last year, although my niggles weren't my feet, but I had various high hamstring and hip issues, which forced me into a long time on the IC! You don't want that to happen so whilst I wouldn't want to discourage you from doing 3 runs a week, I wonder if occasional longer gaps between your runs might help to give your muscles time to rest.
Your two shorter runs are a parkrun, where maybe you're 'competing' a bit, even unconsciously, along with an intervals run, so maybe a short recovery run, nice and slow, could replace one of those? Or treat the 5k as a very slow, relaxed run?
We're all different, but my time on the IC has taught me not to push too hard. I describe it as me 'battering myself' because I tend to overdo it.
Thanks for the advice Roxdog! Sorry to hear about your time on the IC, I can't contemplate that, would drive me nuts!
I run on a Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, so I have 2 days off between the long run (Wed) and Parkrun - Saturday. You guessed correctly, I do the Parkrun at maximum effort as am a 'little' competitive! I will definitely replace the Monday run with something slow and gentle and see if that helps 😀
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