Running - Legs feel like concrete

devilwhiterose

I went for a 6 mile run and ended up having to walk most of it. My legs simply felt like they were encased in concrete. This is the 2nd time this has happened and I have no idea why.

Dehydrated, lacking something? Anyone have an idea?

JustWant2Run

What is your running schedule ?

It happened to me before when I was running too much, too fast, with not enough rest/recovery.

jacksonpt

Training2BeFast wrote: »

What is your running schedule ?

not enough rest/recovery.

This was my thought as well, assuming you're a regular runner.

Are you eating enough?
Are you sleeping enough?

sunglasses_and_ocean_waves

Training2BeFast wrote: »

What is your running schedule ?

It happened to me before when I was running too much, too fast, with not enough rest/recovery.

This. And don't run in wet concrete

jrline

Some days I just don't feel it so a slow walk is all I get. Miles are more important than speed.

JustWant2Run

jacksonpt wrote: »

Are you eating enough?
Are you sleeping enough?

I was about to add that.

jimmmer

^agree with above.

Look to sleep, hydration, caloric intake, too much volume/frequency/pace, extra stress in your life/work/home/etc.

Or a combo or the above...

esjones12

Triathletes use the term "Brick" to describe a bike then run workout. This is because your legs, when not conditioned for it, literally feel like bricks when switching to the run. It is so f*ing painful.

Has it happened before? Was there something different about this run? Do you normally run 6 miles? New running surface? Etc.

lbetancourt

your last 2 runs you felt this way? this has happened to me here & there. but, i don't pay too much attention to it because it's not very often. some running days just suck.

WhatMeRunning

I agree with checking out the above as cause. I will ask though, are you low-carb?

I had a period like that last year. I had been "low-carb" but not keto. I was gunning for 120g-140g per day of total carbs at that time. What I found as I was trying to surpass the 6 mile distance regularly was that I was regularly very tired on my runs. Some days I could barely make it a mile. It was very bothersome to me, I could not get myself past it and I was trying really hard to move past it, figuring it had to be mental.

Turns out it was physical (although the mental aspect still applies). I was simply running longer distances regularly enough that I was experiencing constantly depleted glycogen stores, but was taking in just enough carbs each day to avoid going fully into ketosis on a daily basis. The transition into ketosis when glycogen depletes is a very foggy state of mind and feeling very tired and not wanting to really move. Legs like concrete basically. For long distance runners this is called "hitting the wall". So part of it was mental, as a marathon runner can attest. When that hits, they must struggle to continue. However, I should not have been "hitting the wall" after just a mile. That is crazy, the root cause was physical, my diet.

I had two choices, one was to go keto and become a keto runner. The other was to bump up my carbs.

I chose to bump up my carbs first as a test to prove that glycogen stores were the problem. The results were immediately noticable, and I was soon able to run my first half marathon after adding more carbs, and refueling at points during my runs. So I never went keto, but that would have probably had positive results as well.

Just mentioning in case you are a low-carber.

cwolfman13

jacksonpt wrote: »

Training2BeFast wrote: »

What is your running schedule ?

not enough rest/recovery.

This was my thought as well, assuming you're a regular runner.

Are you eating enough?
Are you sleeping enough?

4leighbee

My first thought was everyone else's first thought ... but it has happened under a different circumstance, so I'll add that, too, just in case. I switched shoes at one point a few years back and I don't know the technical reasons for it but I was working way too hard to just lift and drop, lift and drop - it was crazy. For those runs, my legs (not just my feet) felt like a zillion pounds each. Miserable shoes - ended up taking them back. It wasn't because they were heavy - I like the more substantial running shoes (in Saucony's) - but there was no give or something. But all that said ... it's probably just your body telling you to (gasp!) cross-train. Good luck!

FatMoojor

Any time I have hit the wall it is normally down to not getting enough food in.

I always have at least 1 energy bar with me when I go on a run, don't normally need it for anything less than an hour but after that I will need to start eating.

I did an ultra last year and really didn't plan my food correctly and was just relying on getting enough in at aid stations, somewhere round 22 miles, I hit the wall and by that point my energy levels were far to gone for me to be able to make them back. Ended up walking in the last 8 miles.

Apart from the downhills, you can always run the downhills

4legsRbetterthan2

the eating enough, sleeping enough, make sure you rest/recover stuff I second

also sometimes a little carb boost before a run is helpful

devilwhiterose

Sorry I didn't get back to this one. I've played around the last week or so and I think it's a combo of not enough carbs and maybe not enough stretching. Shoes are great (Asics Cumulus 16). I don't think I'm planning enough the day before a run with food. I don't record my water on here but I'm drinking enough to float away. I'm in a mix between trying to lose weight and I have a 1/2 marathon in a few weeks. I need to stop being so afraid of carbs.

I also ate like crap yesterday so please don't base that as my average if you check my diary. Lol