TIGHT TIGHT Calves (Read 159 times)

Getting really frustrated as I'm getting out there and eye'ing a marathon in the fall and want to start pushing up my training in preparation but my calves are KILLING me almost every run.    I run in a variety of different shoes (rotate 5 or 6 pairs at any given time) and this doesn't seem to have much of an impact one way or the other.

It's pretty common for me to have to stop and walk (or completely stop) a few times for the first 2 miles and after 25/30 minutes they are 'usually' better and I can run.   There are times (like yesterday) when I just stop for the day.

Any ideas of what I can do to remedy this issue.

Good question stadjak.    NO, I have never rolled.    Not really familiar with what to do or what I need for rolling them.     Is there a good article you recommend on this?

The other thing I used to do is walk a little before bed to loosen up sore muscles and get the blood flowing to heal them.  30 minutes before bed or sometimes 30 minutes at lunch ... again to promote the healing process.

They thought I have is why are they getting tight?  Can you stretch them?  Are you running too fast (relative to you)?

 

I do have a question - Are you hydrating enough?  I have a few friends that run and when they train for a marathon they fail becasue they are horrible at hydrating.  They get away with bad hydration running 20-30 Miles per week (MPW), but their body starts revolting at 35-45 MPW.  My friend Tom still thinks beer is the best way to hydrate.

I can stretch them - like right now at my desk I can move them - stand up and lean forward on my desk and give them a stretch and such.....so YES..

Running too fast  - I don't think so.   after having been less active than I'd like, I've been trying to run more but really focused on holding my pace down.   When I am running I usually am running at a slow and comfortable pace and have been taking a lot of walk breaks (to loosed up the calves or just to make sure I'm not over doing it)...so I might be running between 10:30/11:00 and with some walk breads my pace is even slower.

Hydration - HMMMMM - probably not hydrating enough.   ---- I can work on that right now (but not with beer)....

Calves are easy to self massage, since you can feel what is tight and what isn't.  Dig deep.

 

Switching your shoes often may be backfiring, if they have very different drops.  You never get a chance to get used to them.  Maybe try sticking to one kind of drop for a while and see if that helps.

 

Stretching after your run may be a good idea for you as well.  Heel drops, toe raises, Achilles stretches etc.

I feel slight soreness in my calves for the first few runs that I do in new shoes almost every time as well.

I have chronic issues with my left calf cramping.  Have also had issues with the left achilles tendon.  These could be related- I know that I have a lot of scar tissue built up in the tendon, and this has shortened my stride as a result.

Anyway, one thing I did was to build myself a "slant board"- simply a ramp, made out of wood, that presents a ramp of about 22degrees that I can step on to help stretch that calf.  I put some friction material on it to prevent sliding down.  I have this in my living room, so that as I walk past during the day, I can slip my shoe and sock off and do stretches.  I also do lifts on the board, one foot at a time, to help develop my general calf strength.

I find that this has helped me, but the tendency for that calf to cramp remains, so diligence in using the slant board is the key.

Another vote for foam roller.  As far as links or videos - youtube is your friend.

Good question stadjak.    NO, I have never rolled.    Not really familiar with what to do or what I need for rolling them.     Is there a good article you recommend on this?

Okay, this is going to sound like snake-oil, but it's snake-oil that works.  Buy a foam roller off Amazon or something.  Just get firm and no frills.  $10.  Then google how to use it.  It's not hard.

When I started running and someone prescribed yet another widget for me to buy just to run, I scoffed.  Someone gave me one though.  And one night before Volleyball (I played competitive mens' v-ball) my legs were dead from miles.  And so I tried the foam thing.  Bingo, all of a sudden my legs weren't grinding against their own muscles.  They weren't 100%, but they weren't the 20% of before the rolling.

Anyway, the calf isn't the easiest to foam roll (quads being much easier) but a foam roller is cheap and works if you can get some weight on it.

A running buddy of mine has calf problems when he really pushes a marathon PR.  He has the cardio to hit his PR, but his calves lock up.  He did research and found that basically his fitness wasn't up to it and the calves were just a manifestation of his body's protest.  I don't think this is your problem.  I think you just need to go-to-town on your muscles to show them who's boss.

Good luck.