Name The Sore Spot

pcsronbo · Mar 18, 2008

Ok, so I'm being a bit of a whiney biatch 
Can someone clarify what exactly caused each of these areas to be sore (except the obvious, I ran a hilly 1/2 marathon on a course designed to kill people like me) 
1. Quads - this is from downhills mostly right? 
2. Soleus - ??? 
3. Gastros - ??? 
4. Right ITB, but not left 
Any why the [email protected] aren't my glutes sore? They should be no? 
Anyway, just curious and bored since I'm not out drinking and I should be studying... oh yeah, I should be studying, gotta go....

3chilipeppers · Mar 18, 2008

1. Your quads will be sore for a few days after ANY half marathon. Mine were sore for 2 days after mine. Then, they were o.k. My glutes were not sore, and I ran a hilly course too. I think those muscles just don't take as much of a beating I'm guessing. You are using them, but they must just recover faster. Even when I workout at the gym, I can work both my quads and glutes just as hard, but my quads will hurt more and for longer afterward. They are big muscles, so they take longer to recover. 
2. That's the hills 
3. Again, hills 
4. Running on the road, you are usually sloped one way. I hate that because it puts more strain on one knee, leg, etc... I'm guessing that's why only one ITB is bothering you. You could also just have one side weaker than the other. 
Remember, you ran 13.1 miles. That is a lot of beating on all those muscles. Very normal. Next time a little ice after the race might help speed your recovery.

MBannon · Mar 18, 2008

I'm just going to go with "hills" here. Hills are tough on a body. We tend to forget that, reading Thor's daily posts about attacking hills with glee every day, but remember - that guy's a freak. Us mortals need to go easy. And when we go hard, we need to pamper our bodies for a few days. Otherwise we end up spending all winter whining about our knees.

melistic · Mar 18, 2008

Because the cop thought your stick was a weapon?

jkaiser20 · Mar 18, 2008

Old Bannon has a keen eye for the obvious.

pcsronbo · Mar 18, 2008

Could barely walk to the bathroom at 2am last night, which is not something I relish doing anyway, but figure DW would appreciate it <img alt="biggrin.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/biggrin.gif"> 
My soleus's are now the painful spot. Egads. 
Are you people trying to tell me I'm not 18 and I haven't grown up to be like thor? Say it's not so!! <img alt="wink.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/wink.gif">

Alaska Mike · Mar 18, 2008

That was a tough course we ran Sunday Ron, you can fully expect to have some soreness after a run like that. I had some type of knot develop in my right quad during the race and my left ITB made it painful to walk down stairs yesterday. I've been hitting the foam roller like a madman and I've got a deep tissue massage scheduled for tonight. I may have avoided some of that if I hadn't been an idiot and skipped stretching, foam roller and the ice bath after Sunday's race. 
From what I've read from your posts, you know what to do about it, just keep doing it. The soreness will go away. Just think of it as proof that you pushed yourself to the limits. 
Mike

hobey · Mar 18, 2008

Hills...my quads felt like someone took a rolling pin and beat them into submission yesterday. They're a bit better today but still a bit stiff. DT massage for me tomorrow to work out the remaining soreness and I've been "Sticking" like mad. I don't get glute pain when I do hills.

Thor · Mar 18, 2008

And here I thought you were my friend... harumph! 
Yes, hills ARE tough on your body. They are. Charge a few hills and you're done for a long while and probably good into the next day. But keep at them in your training and your body will learn rather quickly to recover much more efficiently. I mean that. But it takes time. And just because it will then recover more quickly doesn't mean the hills don't hurt any less. 
But yes, Ron, the problem is the course you just ran. 
Around my parts there's a race called the Boston Prep 16 Miler. It was the course I did two times back in January as my January marathon distance run. The course is so hilly that very few people even attempt to race it or run it hard. And that's because if you do, you'll be down and out for at least two weeks. Seriously, it is that tough. The point here is that hills are rough, and they get exponentially rougher on the body when you hit them hard without ample recovery between, which is what you find in a race as you hammer near all out.

donskiman · Mar 18, 2008

I agree with Thor. Hills are tough, but if a person trains consistently in hills, they'll be much stronger. 
On the route I run almost every day there is a hill that gains 200-250 feet over the course of about 2 miles. One of the things I try to do in training is to run up at the same speed I run down. That means I press a bit on the way up and ease off on the way down. I could probably find a different route that was flatter, but I doubt I would benefit as much. 
I've also been finding that if I do an easy run the day after a hard race, the pain/soreness tends to not be very bad at all. A few weeks ago I did a very hilly 20K - I wrote a RR - the next day I ran 15K at an easy pace, did some good stretching afterward, and by the day after that there was no soreness at all. Now I'm not recommending you go out and run that far after an HM, but 3-4 miles at an easy pace, or even walking, may help alleviate the pain/soreness much quicker than taking NSAIDS and/or icing.

dragonsrouges · Mar 18, 2008

Possibly those are you weaker muscles? Usually they are the first to go. About the glutes, and together with the ITB pain... maybe you are not using your glutes enough? Could be causing your ITB issues (not directly but chain reaction resulting in tracking issues)? 
Most people run lopsided, even just slightly but not enough to produce pain. You`d practically have to be a robot or a machine to run perfectly evenly (right and left). 
Lots to explore here...

mmoonptdeux · Mar 18, 2008

For me, the right ITB has always given me more issues, and I think it's a strength issue mostly - my right side does most of the work propelling me forward and gets worn out faster at least on road races. 
However, on a trail run, you need strength from both legs depending on how technical the course is. I did my first 25K first time and also on a muddy course to boot and the weaker left ITB went ballistic around mile 12.

niemsco · Mar 18, 2008

Have you tried swimming since the race? When I got out of the pool today I felt like a new man. Used the pull buoy more than usual, but the water really helps.

pcsronbo · Mar 19, 2008

Yeah, CC had me swim. I had DT massage in AM and NORMALLY I would try to get up at 5am and haul my butt to swim 6am but I was still too tired so i slept in. Swim in PM. It did help. 
the one thing I didn't do... kicking myself now... is SPIN on sunday. I do that almost always after hard runs and it helps. Why-did-i-not-do-that-duh. 
Oh well. It's not like the pain is intolerable, it's just unusual. I know hills are my enemy (being gravity challenged and all) so I seek them out on most runs. 
Just unusual to be this sore, this long, and I was being a whiny biatch. 
Today most things are fine, right soleus is not, and going downstairs has minor twinges in both quads. Rest is good to go. We won't mention that I could barely walk this morning... until I got things warmed up <img alt="biggrin.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/biggrin.gif">

Name The Sore Spot

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