Forums >Health and Nutrition>Pain in Leg
I was a competitive runner in high school, then stopped running until after college when I became a cross country coach. I stopped coaching 3 years ago and am just now picking running back up. My goal is to run a marathon in May. I started training on 1-1-17. I have not missed a day of running yet. Ran 20 miles the first week with a long run of 6 miles.
I had stopped running due to a pain in my right leg. It started near my toes and worked all the way up through my calf and even across to the shin at times. The pain is not constant and I don't notice it unless running. On the 6 mile run, about 3 miles in it loosened up and didn't bother me too much. On days in which I run at a slower pace or turn to the right a lot (going around a cul-de-sac) the pain is much more severe. I can tough it out right now, but worry about getting into the meet of marathon training and it becoming too much.
Is there any suggestions to help with the pain?
Thanks in advance for any advice!!
Connoisseur of Cookies
Stop running. If it hurts to do don't do it. Rest. If it persists see a medical professional.
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"C" is for cookie. That's good enough for me.
Have you tried foam-rolling the calf or massage? Could it be your shoes?
#RunEveryDay
If you are getting pain that you would describe as severe, you need to get it checked out by a pro. Go to the doctor before it becomes a bigger (more constant) problem. Toughing out an injury at the start of marathon training is not the way to get to the starting line. Good luck!
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Game Admin for RA Running Game 2023.
If you haven't run in over 3 years then a schedule of 7 days/week is way too aggressive. You're going to need to rest until the pain is almost gone and then restart with a schedule that allows for more recovery days, say every other day. End of February, try bumping it up to 8 runs/14 days - March, 9 runs/14 days, etc. In the meantime, if you want to get in some aerobic base work, get some cycle, elliptical, swim work done on the days off from running.
Good luck with the injury- and with your race.
Runs in the rain
Hi rhorunner! I am not an expert, but will contribute my own experience with an injury and also some ideas. When I tried to increase my mileage too fast I several year back I injured my Achilles tendon and was unable to run. I stopped running for a year and it was still sore. Following advice from a foot doctor I started to run a very short distance, very slowly and did some stretching after I was warmed up. I found that my pain disappeared after a few weeks. I think your pain was also due to trying to much too fast and maybe you should have aimed for doing a 5K first rather than a marathon! My first thought is to tell you to to do more recovery days of either just resting, short, very, very slow runs or cross training. Many injured people have had success with running in a pool where the muscles get a workout without weight stress. Now that said I have also I found that pains often disappear on longer runs after you get that circulation going and loosen up.
A few more more ideas. Losing weight reduces the running stress but don't extremely overdo it. Also diet related, try an alkalizing diet which helps reduce inflammation. Also good are foods which are anti oxidants. Wild caught salmon and fresh vegetables are recommended. Try drinking freshly made vegetable juices which have all the live enzymes. Some ideas a bit more far out: Someone at work said the use of therapeutic magnets helped with her ankle. There are various "ki" type energy programs you could use, such as yoga breathing, touch therapy, guided visualizations and such.
good luck with the training!
Long distance runner, what you standin' there for?Get up, get out, get out of the door!