I run and I never feel sore - should I? - Runner advice

itsmeGennie

Hi guys,

I've been jogging/running for the last year and decided to sign up for 10K (my sister made me). I've never trained for a running even before. I've been training for the last six weeks using the Hal Higdon intermediate training plan so I run about 15 miles a week. I do body weight exercises - sometimes w/weights - for strength. Question is - I never feel sore like when I first started running. I'm not super fit but I'd like to get better at running.

Does this mean I'm not pushing myself enough??

Other things to know:
- I always run outside (even this past winter in NY)
- I'm 5'7/120lb , female
- My runs (about 4x a week) I run at a 10-11min pace.

akirkman86

I am in the same boat. When I FIRST started running I used to get sore, but now I never do. I'm training for a half marathon... 10 miles on Friday, and no soreness whatsoever. Not sure if stats matter at all, but I am 5'7" and 133 lbs.

itsmeGennie

@akirkman86‌ Thanks for the reply. I hope we get our questions answered!

gabbo34

I dunno. I guess I think of running like any other sport your conditioned to do. You shouldn't feel pain or soreness unless you get injured.

If you're not conditioned to do it,or go past what your body is ready for - you stand a higher chance of getting injured. You'll hear a lot of expert runners say to ramp up mileage slowly (10% a week) so your body adapts...but some folks are just born to run. (cue music)

Unfortunately I'm not one of them. I ramped up too quick and got a bad case of post tibia tendonitis. After anything longer than 8 miles, my ankles feel like Kathy Bates hit them with a sledgehammer in Misery. I limp around the evening after my Sunday long runs and most of the next day. But it gets better after a couple of days and I can do my 4-5 mile weekday runs just fine.

I should take a few months off to let it heal...but it doesn't seem to be getting any worse. Believe me, I'd LOVE to be in your shoes.

MrKbailey

I've been running for many years. Proper warming up and cooling down reduces chance of soreness. However, if you are setting PR's and extending your VO2 Max you will have some soreness.

itsmeGennie

I usually feel (very) sore after other workouts like weights and basketball which is why I was wondering.

Ahh, maybe I'm not running far enough. I've never run 8 miles before, ever. I run until I hear a certain song and I turn around and go back home. According to my training plan, I'm not due to do so for another 2 weeks.

Shame, I guess me and akirkman86 are the lucky ones!

Nikki10129

Definitely not a shame :P

also don't worry about not feeling sore, follow the training plan. Pushing yourself too far too fast could result in you feeling sore and then injuring yourself, and you've made it so far, you wouldn't want to do that before your first race! Whatever you're doing seems to be working, so long as you are seeing improvement in your endurance.

eemmerson929

"Should I..?" Get down on your knees and praise the baby jeebus? Why yes. yes,
you should!

riveraandrew39

No soreness is not bad at all,If your constantly running throughout the week, then with all that cardio, your body reduces lactic acid. Which isnt bad,lactic acid is the soreness,or tightness of the muscle durring intense training

shcraddock

I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a runner, though I have ran two half marathons. I found the short to mid-distance runs I was fine, though the longer runs made my knees and legs a bit more sore.

MeanderingMammal

I'll generally feel sore after a speedwork session, but your mileage isn't enough to really benefit from those. I'll feel fatigued, but not sore, as such, after a long run.

For me, 6 miles is a short run, a speedwork session will be in the order of 8 miles all in and a long is generally between 10 and 15 at the moment.

WhatMeRunning

I used to feel sore in muscles I never imagined were associated with running when I first started out. Since building up that original strength though, I usually only feel sore when I am pushing limits, like near my longest run mileage (currently 13.1 miles is my longest and I felt pretty sore for the first day after a recent 12 mile training run). I've also felt sore after some tempo runs where I really pushed my limits, and of course interval sprints.

snowflakesav

You don't necessarily need to run to the point where your legs are sore every time you run. You are building capillaries, stroke volume, mitochondria ( which burn fat) on your easy training runs.

kristinegift

If you are keeping things at a reasonable pace and not shaking things up to much, you should feel pretty much fine. It does not in any way mean you aren't working hard enough. It just means you're doing things at a pace your body enjoys!

loratliff

snowflakesav wrote: »

You don't necessarily need to run to the point where your legs are sore every time you run. You are building capillaries, stroke volume, mitochondria ( which burn fat) on your easy training runs.

Yep. Mildly sore is normal, and so is no soreness... Everyone is different. I'm never sore after 4-5 mile weekday runs, but occasionally after a long run, I feel a little "creaky" the next day. Ten+ miles is a long time of sustained impact, so it only make sense that your bones and muscles need time to recover.

glevinso

I run a lot, but only rarely do I find myself sore from it. Usually when I do a particular type of run that I haven't done in a while. For example I was pretty sore after my first hill-repeat run of the year a few weeks ago (those are hard to really simulate on a treadmill, so they didn't happen all winter). I'll be sore after races where I am obviously pushing faster than I would if it was just a regular run of that length. Other than that, no I don't really get "sore".

itsmeGennie

@glevinso @loratliff I think I'm in the same boat. I forgot to put my mileage - I do about 3-5 miles, 4x a weekday and longer run on Saturday morning (6-8 mi). I only really feel soreness after the longer runs.

I think I may have spoken too soon because the last run I had my first pains! The muscles on the inside of the lower part of my legs (b/w the fat part of calf and ankle) were super sore for about two days but a good massage helped me out.

My speed workouts