help…soreness from speed and hill running

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Lesleycali
Lesleycali Posts: 236 Member
edited December 2014 in Fitness and Exercise
hey guys and gals help please!………. I'm trying to increase speed on my giant trail hills, so far so good. My question is, would you do any type of dynamic warmup stretches? Post run stretches? Or core strengthening workouts?

I'm still feeling some soreness in my hips? groin? Not sure what it is? from a speedier hill session on Sunday. It was a 2400 ft.elevation gain (which is typical of my runs) but I picked 4 of the hills, each a 1/4 mile or so long and went at them almost full force.

I don't want to injure myself. I've been running trail hills for months, but only now am working on speed in conjunction with elevation gain……... Thanks as always xoxo

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  • esjones12
    esjones12 Posts: 1,363 Member
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    Always warm up before and stretch after.

    I am guessing you are noticing the soreness because it was more demanding than you are used to. You should be able to tell if it's a "I need to rest a few more days" type of soreness, or a "my body will get used to these demands" soreness. You also could have just tweaked something.

    I foam roll and soak in hot epsom salt baths a lot.
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
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    The first new routines I have ever done for strength building always made me really sore due to engaging those muscles that were not used to that strenuous of exercise.

    For my interval and hill training, I loosen up with a 10 minute run.

    Watch out for over training injuries, of course.
  • Lesleycali
    Lesleycali Posts: 236 Member
    edited December 2014
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    hi and thank you!

    This feels more like a "hey lady, pay attention or else!!!!" kind of warning and not a real injury. :smile:

    Yes, I've been pretty bad about stretching after, I maybe do it half the time (um ok 1/4 of the time.) I think I've gone 8 months with no issues so assumed it wasn't needed. Maybe now with higher demands my body won't let me be so lazy anymore.

    Can you recommend any specific warmup activities? I didn't know if running a slow mile in the beginning was enough.

    And I will look into the foam roller, too. thanks!
  • Lesleycali
    Lesleycali Posts: 236 Member
    edited December 2014
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    grimmeanor wrote: »
    The first new routines I have ever done for strength building always made me really sore due to engaging those muscles that were not used to that strenuous of exercise.

    For my interval and hill training, I loosen up with a 10 minute run.

    Watch out for over training injuries, of course.

    yes I'm sure it requires different muscles to sprint up the hills, at least that's what it feels like! I'm trying to keep an eye out for overtraining, only increasing mileage 10% a month and only doing 1 or 2 speed days a week. Actually I just realized I might be running my easy runs too hard, that might be related...
  • CodeMonkey78
    CodeMonkey78 Posts: 320 Member
    edited December 2014
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    Lesleycali wrote: »
    hey guys and gals help please!………. I'm trying to increase speed on my giant trail hills, so far so good. My question is, would you do any type of dynamic warmup stretches? Post run stretches? Or core strengthening workouts?

    I'm still feeling some soreness in my hips? groin? Not sure what it is? from a speedier hill session on Sunday. It was a 2400 ft.elevation gain (which is typical of my runs) but I picked 4 of the hills, each a 1/4 mile or so long and went at them almost full force.

    I don't want to injure myself. I've been running trail hills for months, but only now am working on speed in conjunction with elevation gain……... Thanks as always xoxo

    Dynamic warmup -- always.
    Post run static stretching -- always.
    Core work -- always a good thing.
    Slow cool down -- always.

    The soreness in your hips and groin area is probably due to your hip flexors. Careful not to push these small muscles *too* hard too fast. Your fast-twitch muscle fibers here have to be built up gradually or you risk injury.

    I would recommed a slow, two mile warmup and incorporate drills into your warmup (high knees, butt kickers, skips / high skips, etc.).

    If you are going to attack the hill and sprint it, I would shorten the distance. 400 meters is a LOT in the realm of hill sprints. I'd personally break it up into 50-100 meter segments or timed intervals.

    I would NOT recommend doing this type of workout on consecutive days or more than two times per week.

    +1 for foam rolling! Your muscles will thank you :smiley:

    HTH!
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
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    I have always loved running hills. It is so taxing and that makes it is easy to measure your progress. ("I could go this far last time, and this time, I went 100 meters further!") The progress comes fast. It is an incredible way to increase your lung capacity and improve your running overall, in a way that is impossible by just slogging along mile after mile on the flats. Level ground never challenges your lungs or your leg strength.
    I don't know about warm up. I never did anything specific. I just ran to the bottom of the hills to start, usually about 1 mile or 2 miles. Those 1 or 2 miles give you a cool down when you are finished too.
    I know that codemonkey is advising you not to do hills too often. But I found no reason to limit them. If anything, it is less stressful on your body to run hills because you don't run as far. I find that running for 6 to 8 miles is much harder on my body than sprinting a steep hill. I suppose coming down is a jolt or two. But, again, you are not going very far.
  • PeterSedesse
    PeterSedesse Posts: 124
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    tufel wrote: »
    I suppose coming down is a jolt or two. But, again, you are not going very far.

    Yeah, you really have to be careful coming down hills, either walking or jogging because you tend to use your joints to absorb the shock. Just like everything else, keep your knees soft and allow your muscles to be the shock absorbers.

    I have an assistant that helps me with my classes, and the first two words I taught her to yell at the students is ´soft knees´..
  • firesnake7
    firesnake7 Posts: 3
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    Lesleycali wrote: »
    hey guys and gals help please!………. I'm trying to increase speed on my giant trail hills, so far so good. My question is, would you do any type of dynamic warmup stretches? Post run stretches? Or core strengthening workouts?

    I'm still feeling some soreness in my hips? groin? Not sure what it is? from a speedier hill session on Sunday. It was a 2400 ft.elevation gain (which is typical of my runs) but I picked 4 of the hills, each a 1/4 mile or so long and went at them almost full force.

    I don't want to injure myself. I've been running trail hills for months, but only now am working on speed in conjunction with elevation gain……... Thanks as always xoxo

    hiya,
    i used to do a whole lot of running :)
    firstly if you are just getting into running, take it EASY. even if you did road running now are doing trail etc, it is really different. e.g. now you do sprints as well as hills!
    otherwise you will end up with injuries. believe me, that isn't good.
    also sounds like your hip flexors and maybe ITB are sore. do some good stretches after your workout. stretching makes such a difference post workout.
    do you do any pilates? it is amazing for running. it really helps.

    take magnesium at night too. you'll find you recover a lot better!
    and always have at least 1 day off a week.

    have fun!
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    In the beginning, let the hill do the work rather than trying to "sprint". You can up the tempo a bit, but focus on maintaining form, arm carriage, etc. Sprinting stresses the soft tissues; so does hill running. Be careful about trying to do both at once.
  • midnight419
    midnight419 Posts: 77 Member
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    I don't do a dynamic warm up. I just start off with a slow 5 minutes run. If I'm feeling abnormally tight I might foam roll before running or stretch. After my run, I foam roll, stretch, and do some quick strength exercises. Foam rolling and stretching really helps with the soreness for me. I am always noticeably more tight when I do any sort of speed work. I wouldn't worry about the soreness unless you're having pain.

    I highly recommend doing the myrtl routine after running. It's quick and easy, and targets that areas that most runners have weaknesses in:
    PDF: njsportsmed.com/files/myrtl_routine.pdf
    video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=2GLrKr54yA0

    Hip stretches:
    popsugar.com/fitness/Basic-Stretches-Tight-Hips-3130483#photo-3130483
    runnersworld.com/stretching/hip-flexor-and-hamstring-stretch?page=single
    Also, if you have tightness in your hip flexors, laying on a tennis ball and rolling the tennis ball on them helps.
  • Lesleycali
    Lesleycali Posts: 236 Member
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    Thank you all so much for the responses! I really appreciate it! Especially the reminders to take it easy as I start something new :)


    CodeMonkey, yes maybe the 400 meters was overdoing it, I was just so excited and it was fun. I also read something this morning that said to start with a few hill sprints of 8-10 seconds each, which agrees with what you are saying. I think I'll do that and work my way up to longer/ more frequent hill sprints. Gosh it was just so fun though, I wish I had the power NOW to conquer all the hills lol

    Midnight THANK YOU for the links. this is EXACTLY what I was looking for. I know all this stuff is out there on the web but it can be overwhelming trying to sort through the millions & bazillions of pages of what you should and shouldn't do. Can't wait to try this stuff out.

    ANd off to order a foam roller.

    Thank you guys (*)
  • CodeMonkey78
    CodeMonkey78 Posts: 320 Member
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    Lesleycali wrote: »

    CodeMonkey, yes maybe the 400 meters was overdoing it, I was just so excited and it was fun. I also read something this morning that said to start with a few hill sprints of 8-10 seconds each, which agrees with what you are saying. I think I'll do that and work my way up to longer/ more frequent hill sprints. Gosh it was just so fun though, I wish I had the power NOW to conquer all the hills lol

    I understand completely -- I love hills and hate the flats :smiley:. If you want to do more hills, have at it.. Just keep a slower, manageable pace and avoid sprinting the hills too often to prevent injury. Hills help enforce good running habits, technique, form, build strength, increase VO2max, etc. If you have poor form running uphill, you'll find out really quick!

    If you want another challenge, do them backwards :wink:

    Happy running!
  • CodeMonkey78
    CodeMonkey78 Posts: 320 Member
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    tufel wrote: »

    I know that codemonkey is advising you not to do hills too often. But I found no reason to limit them. If anything, it is less stressful on your body to run hills because you don't run as far. I find that running for 6 to 8 miles is much harder on my body than sprinting a steep hill. I suppose coming down is a jolt or two. But, again, you are not going very far.

    I didn't say avoid doing hills too often -- avoid doing hill SPRINT workouts too often. I hate the flats and run hills and trails all the time. Sprinting them too often is a recipe for injury.

    All part of the 80/20 rule.
  • cindynhderby7
    cindynhderby7 Posts: 32
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    Hi! I would stretch before and after. I run daily and it always helps me. lol please listen to your body. I know as a runner it is hard but sometimes you just have to rest. Last summer I had a race coming up and I wanted to have really good time. My knee started hurting but I pushed my self anyway and went out on a run. I live in New Hampshire so everytime I run it is always hills lol. The next day I couldn't even walk up the stairs I was in so much pain. It lasted for a couple of weeks. Listen to your body

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