Running- preventing calves from seizing on upcoming 5k
Lizzypb88
Posts: 367 Member
Does anyone have advice in preventing my calves from seizing mid race? Normally when I run I either go at an easy pace or tougher pace with some sprints, but today I ran a harder run because I felt the energy to, and had to stop because my legs were cramping up... this happened in my last 5k race and I had to stop right in the middle to wait for them to release... I know I run harder in a 5k than normal so my muscles hate me, but i don't want to feel afraid of it happening again, any suggestions for days leading up to race day? Should i stretch more and foam roll every day prior? Again this problem only happens when I go all out and I know I'm probably going to want to but would rather my calves not stop me!
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Replies
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How is your hydration?1
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What's your current training volume?0
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check hydration. consider more than water.
consider rolling the calves with a foam roller
consider more rest days0 -
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Well... now that I think about it, normally I drink lots of water, but yesterday I didn't eat healthy and didn't drink as much water as I normally do, but any other day is still 40-60oz of water0
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BrianSharpe wrote: »What's your current training volume?
I run 2.5 miles twice a week, I'm still obese so I walk for a couple hours on the 3rd day as my knees don't like 3 days of running, but if I push and run fast for too long then they seize, my body wanted to keep running farther today than my calves so I know I ran pretty fast but I felt the urge to push myself a bit more0 -
Instead of merely increasing the stride a little bit and turnover a tad faster - could you accidentally be changing your whole form to more sprinter mechanics and using the calves a whole lot more when you speed up?
Beyond the great advice above.
Ever thought about run/walk intervals?
That way the running can be at comfortable pace that allows good form/mechanics - efficiency, but you save the knees.
Like 3 min run / 2 min walk - 60% running. or 3.5 min / 1.5 min for 70%.
As the weight comes off and less stress on joints - % can go up.0 -
You might want to consider drinking a bit more, especially if you do a bit of exercise. Exact requirements are specific to individuals but the standard 8X8 recommendation should put you at 64 ounces per day. Since you exercise regularly, you'd want to drink even more than that.1 -
stanmann571 wrote: »check hydration. consider more than water.
I agree with both of those.
But I'd also mention/ask about your training load. Maybe you're just over-doing it if that's not what your body is trained for? If you want to go hard for a 5k, you have to train hard(er).
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Sounds like tight calves, which is pretty common. The fix for that is to stretch your calves for 30+ seconds every hour, every day. Use a reminder app if you forget.
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I like to do heel lifts and heel dips during my warm ups and stretching breaks. I've found its help a lot with a few issues.0
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Do you warm up prior to your races? A super easy 1-2km out & back along the course prior to the race start may help you loosen up enough that you don't cramp up during the race.1
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Ditto's to warmup. 5 min walk at least before you start running can do wonders, and if near the end of the 5 min you can start actively stretching the calves, usually should help. I do 5 min walking after also, with stretching in there.
Basically just bent knee walking to feel the stretch in the soleus calf muscle, and the achilles if that is an issue. If the gastroc is still feeling tight on the porch, just a little drop-heel stretch on stair takes care of it.1 -
BrianSharpe wrote: »What's your current training volume?
I run 2.5 miles twice a week, I'm still obese so I walk for a couple hours on the 3rd day as my knees don't like 3 days of running, but if I push and run fast for too long then they seize, my body wanted to keep running farther today than my calves so I know I ran pretty fast but I felt the urge to push myself a bit more
Sounds like a simple case of adaptation / overdoing it it. Adaptation takes time and consistency, I understand why you'd be hesitant to run 3 x weekly but the also means that your body adapts to the new demands more slowly.
Slow down your pace when running, it's counter intuitive but running more slowly is the way to go.
Keep it up, it gets better.0 -
BrianSharpe wrote: »BrianSharpe wrote: »What's your current training volume?
I run 2.5 miles twice a week, I'm still obese so I walk for a couple hours on the 3rd day as my knees don't like 3 days of running, but if I push and run fast for too long then they seize, my body wanted to keep running farther today than my calves so I know I ran pretty fast but I felt the urge to push myself a bit more
Sounds like a simple case of adaptation / overdoing it it. Adaptation takes time and consistency, I understand why you'd be hesitant to run 3 x weekly but the also means that your body adapts to the new demands more slowly.
Slow down your pace when running, it's counter intuitive but running more slowly is the way to go.
Keep it up, it gets better.
Since I've been running twice a week and walking with my kids once a week over the past 2.5mos I've gone from 14:30min miles to 14min or 13:45min miles for easy runs, so I do feel more of a want to push to go faster... my PR was 36min flat last August, but my goal is to be under 40min, it would REALLY boost my confidence... I do one easy run a week and one where I push myself a tad bit more, those I tend to do 13min mile, or 12something, but this last one (flat new area I haven't run) I did 11something for half of it and once I stopped for a walk break I felt my calves saying- good u stopped cuz I'm going to cause u some pain!0 -
Ditto's to warmup. 5 min walk at least before you start running can do wonders, and if near the end of the 5 min you can start actively stretching the calves, usually should help. I do 5 min walking after also, with stretching in there.
Basically just bent knee walking to feel the stretch in the soleus calf muscle, and the achilles if that is an issue. If the gastroc is still feeling tight on the porch, just a little drop-heel stretch on stair takes care of it.
I only stretch after my runs for a few min at most so I'll try stretching daily0 -
Do you take magnesium which is great for relaxing muscles plus reducing muscle cramps0
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