Top 3 Areas for Leg Soreness from Running

I always seem to write about running on sore legs. I guess it is because I always seem have sore legs at the beginning of a training cycle. Over time, you learn some tricks, how to listen to your body, and if actually running is a good or a bad idea. Long story short, the answer to the question, "Should you run on sore legs", is yes. Maybe.

I run on sore legs, but not before making sure the soreness is because of muscle fatigue rather than injury. Thankfully, the injury part is not as common for me, and the soreness is just something that occurs on a regular, seasonal basis so I've gotten pretty good at spotting the signs.

Here are the top 3 areas of muscle soreness from running that I come across on a regular basis when starting a running plan.

1) Hamstring - running to fast too soon
2) Calf Muscle - from running hills too soon
3) Shin (Tibialis anterior) - from running to far to soon

The best remedy I've found to get past the soreness and on to happy running is to always stretch and massage the muscle groups listed above before and after a run. Don't try stretching to hard while your muscles are not warmed up to avoid pulling, tearing, or ripping them. That would suck.

Oh, and do all the other stuff everyone else says to do like: drink plenty of water, increase your weekly mileage slowly, and get some rest (sleep).

Thanks for reading!

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The First Run Back

I laced up the shoes this morning and was out the door by 5:30am. A bit later than my early runs last summer, but at least I was up and heading for the run.

After about the first 5 minutes of running through the street lamp lit streets I remembered that, no matter what my endurance level was, the first mile was the always the toughest. I plowed through the first mile in about 8 minutes and finally started to feel normal.

My running route is a new one and seeing the different scenery helped the next couple of miles fly by. On the last mile of my run I came across a couple of hills and made sure to keep my pace consistent to finish strong.

This was a short slow run and I wrapped it up at about 8:00/mile pace. The rolling hills will likely take their toll on my legs tomorrow so my advice to anyone just starting out would be to avoid hills for at least the first week or two. The pain you will avoid on your rest days in being sore will keep you enjoying the pain and suffering of training hard!


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How to Start a Marathon Program from Scratch

I'm a runner, or at least I was about 3 months ago. As a runner, you run. As a runner who takes a break for 3 months, you're still a runner... just a runner on vacation from lacing up the shoes at 5am and blazing a trail through the morning's darkness.

I've decided to come in from the cold and settle back into being a runner. I've got a goal race in December, The Dallas White Rock Marathon, and my 16 Week training plan will formally kick into action in August. I've got some work to do in order to ramp up my mileage slow enough that I don't get injured, but fast enough so I can make the most out of my training plan.

Here are the keys to my success:
1) Ramp up mileage slowly over 8 weeks
2) Stretch every day and after every run
3) Run in the mornings to shake the legs out during the day
4) Keep the diet on track
5) Keep track of my progress on Dailymile.com
6) Blog about the pleasure and pain
7) Start Marathon training in August on a high note!

I've got got about 8 weeks to ramp up and I plan on a lot of slow miles to get the juices flowing again and to work out the kinks. Here is a sample ramp up that I might use. I'm trying to keep it simple, but I think this little ramp up plan will be good to get me started and keep me going.

I feel like I'm starting over from square one, so the goal is to stay consistent, stretch a lot, and keep all of the miles at a good easy pace. I plan to document my progress and hope to PR in December!