Tight calves and sore shins 😩

[LauraTurtle]

Wk4 run3

I was dreading going out for tonight’s run as I’ve felt like I’ve had zero energy all day at work! Anyway, I got my trainers on and got out there and I’m so glad I did!

However, my last few runs I’ve really being struggling with tight calves and shin pain! I manage to get through it and the running part is actually less painful than the walking sections, any advice??

I always stretch well after my runs and always do a good 5minute minimum walk to warm up but tonight they are really sore!

I did do quite a lot of walking over the weekend so not sure if they just need a rest or will this make it worse?

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Exercise on rest day is essential and especially as the runs get longer

Try a longer warm up walk and you may feel like doing some dynamic stretching too...

Try to land lightly when you run and lots of stretches after is good.. and maybe some rolling too!

Walking is good and should help not hinder..

[GemmaRoberts]

Hi!

Well done for getting out even when you were dreading it! It does make a difference I think!

It sounds a lot like shin splints - I was going to try to explain it but honestly, it might be better for you to Google it! I suffer with them and have found a few stretches that help with the shin pain. I do also find I have tight calves a lot of the time, I stretch them throughout the day but they're still quite sore.

I have been wondering if it's a technique thing or just because my legs are wondering what the hell is going on with all this running (actually, more like plodding!).

I'm going to do wk6r1 tomorrow so I'm only a bit ahead! Good luck with your next run!

[baronblaze]

It sounds like the start of shin splints. Walking may or may not aggravate the condition. There are a number of things that you can do to ease the problem. The first is rest which is something no-one likes to do. Stretching does help but you need to do stretching exercises specific to shin splints. Try and do the stretching exercises at least daily even on none running days. I do pilates classes which has helped my all round flexibility and i'm sure has prevented me from getting shin splints that used to haunt me on a regular basis. Foam rolling should also ease the stiffness. Shin splints are usually the result of weaknesses further up your body in particular the glutes. There are a lot of exercises that you can do to strengthen these which do work. Unfortunately putting more strain on part of your body when other parts are weak can make injuries/aches/sores more likely.

[nickylt Graduate]

Hi LauraTurtle, see my post here: healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

Just a suggestion about keeping an eye on your calves as I have calf muscle issues I am having investigated at the moment - similarly walking is harder for me than running. Thought it might be helpful but hope it's something much simpler!