[jimcarver]

I am coming back to running after around a year hiatus. I started around the begining of December and no problems. In the last week or so after around a mile of running both of my calf muscles have been tightening and feels like the lactic acid sensation. However within around 30 minutes of finishing they feel fine again.
I am running with a HR monitor so I know that I am not tired out.
I have had a couple of ideas;
I thought my trainers were getting old, so changed them, same problems;
I have considered that maybe my stride pattern changes when I am reaching my desired HR threshold;
I need to consider some new stretches for warning up/down.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? I would welcome any advice, as I have never experienced this before.

Thanks

 

[Katten]

Hi

I had something vaguely similar once, but that was due to bad trainers. Have you tried shoes that stop your feet from rolling?

There are loads of decent calf-stretches, one I do is to stand straight, with my knees bent, transfer my weight onto one foot, then raise myself up on the ball of that foot, slowly, then lower again, also slowly (so you can feel it working on your calf muscle) A few reps of that on each leg will hopefully strengthen the muscle that's tight.

 

[jimcarver]

Thanks for the advice. I will try the stretches and see how it goes.

Results to follow...

 

[OZBOZO]

Hi,calf soreness is a quite common problem when returning to running after a break from it.Usually,it goes away as you build up the days of training and your musculature gets stronger.The calf strength work suggested by Katten is a good idea.You should aim to build up to 40 per calf to satisfy strength needs.
In the period you are building up your miles try to stay off hard road surface or VERY soft
grass or country.You need a firmish terrain initially to stave off persistent problems.

 

[Fulmar]

Hi jimcarver
I had the exact same problem some years ago.
I just kept on running.
I ran shorter distances for a couple of weeks and never going fast.
And whenever I would feel the calves tightening up I would just stop and stretch them really well (and massage them too).
It was really painful for a time but it eventually went away. I guess that as I got more miles in and the legs got stronger and used to the daily routine.