My training is really hurting

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-26-2004
My training is really hurting
5
Mon, 08-23-2004 - 11:47pm
Any runners out there can give me advice? For over a month I've been walking 4 to 6 miles a day. About 1/2 to 1 miles into my walk I get terrible cramps in my heels up the back of my lower legs. The pain stops me in my tracks. I stop and stretch and am able to walk but it is uncomfortable, it feels like i have terrible knots in my legs. When i'm done and take my shoes off my feet and legs just ache for hours. I stretch about 5 minutes before I start. Tommorrow I'm going to take IBprofen before I walk. AC
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-18-2003
Tue, 08-24-2004 - 7:22am

A couple of things come to mind but I wonder about the pain in the heels.


 








 
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2003
Tue, 08-24-2004 - 8:13am
I'm prone to foot and leg cramps myself.

I echo Phyllis' advice about good (NEW - if they're older than 6 months, get new ones!) shoes, minerals, and water.

Also - a runner friend of mine taught me - sit with your foot off the ground and draw the alphabet with your toes, moving at the ankle to do so. It's a great way to stretch out the calf muscles and get things more relaxed.

Also, work on doing calf raises at home - stand on the edge of a stair, with your heels off, and press up until you're on the balls of your feet, then relax down so your calves are stretched. Do it slowly *after* you've warmed up a bit. I incorporated calf-raises into my weight-training workout - I do sets of 15-20 single-leg raises whenever I do lowerbody, because I needed to get my calves used to more endurance-type working.

Just some ideas... Good luck!

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2000
Tue, 08-24-2004 - 8:17am
I hurt more last year, and it was doing too much too fast - but it was with running. Phyllis had some good things to ask yourself, ie. water, shoes, supplements. Two other things come to my mind. You might want to find a brief aerobic routine to warm up with. For me, stretching only goes so far and doesn't seem to hit all the muscle groups I use in running; when I do a warm-up routine along with some stretching, that seems to get me more ready for running than stretching alone. Gets the heart pumping too. Second, you said you're walking 4-6 miles a day. Are you walking *every* day? You might need to give yourself a day or two break during the week. I promise you won't fall behind! Your muscles need a chance to rest just like you need a rest from work. Try varying the routine, too - one day do your 6 miles, the next day do 1-2 but at a faster pace. Third day rest. When I started hurting last year, I can recall twice where I had to break for a week to let any pulls heal.












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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-08-2004
Tue, 08-24-2004 - 9:00am

4-6 miles a day?

Lori

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cl for Ask the

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-03-2001
Tue, 08-24-2004 - 8:38pm
You might log onto some running sites such as reebokrunner.com and runnersworld.From there check out their injury section.I think good shoes are really important.Also knowing when to push thru pain and when to stop.Sometimes when I run at the track I know I will have some discomfort when I first start and work thru it.However if it continues thru out the run and after I've stopped it's time to take a few days off.A few sites I checked out mentioned using ice, doing calf raises that Anna mentioned and the importance of the right shoe.Let us know how it feels and please take care of it.

Miss P