leg weakness - overtraining?

xprettyreckless
xprettyreckless Posts: 297 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm at a total loss right now - it'd be great if somebody could find the time to quickly read through this
and possible give me some advice!

I joined my college track team as a long distance runner and now run six times a week.
Mondays are our days off. Last week we did one speed workout, three base runs, the race
itself and then a long run (90 minutes, almost 10 miles) on Sunday.
On Monday I only did Pilates/Yoga to relax and stretch.

I was told that I might have tight calves after my first race, since I'd never run in spikes before.
While I had absolutely no problem doing the long run on Sunday though, (the day after the race)
the base run on Tuesday felt absolutely terrible. I felt dizzy, my calves were tight, and it didn't go well at all.
Ever since that run yesterday morning, my legs have been feeling incredible weak and they're kind of shaky (as are my arms).

I've hydrated tons, according to my diary my potassium levels are high, and
I eat plenty and make sure to get enough protein too.

What I'm wondering now, is where the sudden weakness in my legs comes from. I've had it for well over
a day now, and skipped track practice this morning because of that. I'm supposed to do an interval workout
and weight training on my own this afternoon - but I'm not sure if my legs will carry me.

Does anybody know what might be causing this leg weakness (a weird sensation that creeps up all the way to my thighs)
and how do I make it go away? Preferably.. as soon as possible?

Thanks!

Replies

  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
    I'd talk to your coach or team trainer. It's likely they've dealt with this issue before.
  • xprettyreckless
    xprettyreckless Posts: 297 Member
    Thanks, I will talk to him, but I was hoping for some advice on here first!
  • minivandad
    minivandad Posts: 7
    My unprofessional guess would be is that you went buck wild there. Six days a week is a lot. I don't know how many days a week you were running before, but it is possible your legs are telling you WTF!
    You may to dial it back a little. Don't make me come over there in my yoga-man pants!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Yeah, talk to coach and trainer...it is likely your body isn't accustomed to that much work. You can't just jump in head first like that; you have to build up to that kind of work.
  • xprettyreckless
    xprettyreckless Posts: 297 Member
    I did significantly up my mileage before I started track practices. I ran just as much
    for about eight weeks before that, only that my training didn't include speed workouts,
    interval trainings and definitely no races.

    So I should be fine training wise.

    Could it be anything else?
  • Rica03
    Rica03 Posts: 214 Member
    Sweetie, it sounds like fatique to me. Your body is screaming at you, needing a proper recovery. Maybe more fuel?
  • 2hobbit1
    2hobbit1 Posts: 820 Member
    Could be over training but it also could be that your electrolytes are out of whack big time. Talk to your trainer you may need blood work to find out for sure what needs replaced. If you do it wrong it could be very ugly!
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    Sounds like classic overtraining/fatigue to me! Maybe you can take more time to build up to that kind of training schedule? When I ran cross-country track in high school, overtraining was a big problem for me and many of my teammates. We had a very tough coach who probably pushed us young runners more than he should have. Maybe it's time for a little break?

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