I’ve been training in the heat for some time now but as of recently I’ve been having some issues that I’ve never encountered before. I’ll be forthright and state I don’t do a lot of stretching. Never have in the past, just make sure I’m warm before I start my workout and gradually work into a good run pace.
Recently I was on a 6 mile run and around mile 5 the bottom part of my right calf started getting tight; almost as if someone had punched it earlier and felt bruised. By the end of the run it was noticeable enough that I was limping a bit. I laid off for a couple of days with no running and when I resumed back it was fine. Fast forward a couple of weeks and it did the exact same thing on my left calf. Same place, opposite leg. Laid off a couple of days but did it again last night. I woke up this morning with no bruising but it’s a noticeable ache/pain; similar to a charlie horse the day after.
Is this from dehydration of some sort? I’m not new to running in the heat and make sure I’m well hydrated prior to and even take my fuel belt for anything 5 miles or longer considering it’s 100 degrees outside. I’m just not sure what’s going on at this point.
Any shoe issues? Like getting up in miles? Or changed to a different shoe? Do you stretch post run and if so does it help? Tried rolling the calves to see if that helps…
I’ve had similar sounding soleus muscle soreness flair up at times as well. Consistent foam rolling worked it out for me, I never managed to attribute it to dehydration or anything else specific.
Jump on rolling that shit out now brah! I let it go, went into both and needed to take about 2 weeks off running, before I did that it just kept getting worse to the point where when I woke up in the morning I was limping around as soon as I got out of bed and anytime I was sitting for an extended period of time.
That usually where I get sore running longer distances. Also where I tend to cramp so it can hard to determine the cause. Have you changed anything recently like from hard to soft surfaces? If it seems to coincide with the heat, try an electrolyte or a banana.
You may already know this, but you said you don’t stretch a lot so just in case. The soleus is a tough muscle to stretch. My understanding it cannot be stretched with leg straight (I don;t know why, someone else can chime in). So to stretch it, sit on your butt, bend your knee at 90 degree angle and then pull your foot back towards you. Or stand on a stretching block with your knee bent and stretch. Then to stretch the achilles, tuck your heel all the way back to your butt and then pull your foot back towards you.
I’ve had lots of soleus problems in the past, it can be a tough injury because you are engaging it on the run and some on the bike, particularly on long climbs. One thing I did that helped was slam my bike cleats back with an extender plate.
Knock on wood, I haven’t had it this season. For me, it seems to be brought on and/or aggravated by ramping up miles/intensity too quickly, although it’s never related to a single bad “pull”, event, etc. This season, I’ve taken my running build-up very slowly, and it’s been paying off.
When I get it, I’ve learned the hard way that I need to take 2-3 (sometimes more) weeks off running completely, or it’ll just stay with me chronically. Calf sleeves seem to help in recovery and even for running, but I fully admit that may all be in my head. At any rate, I’ll take whatever help I can get, even if it’s a placebo… Edit to add - gentle stretching after a run helps me too, but the foam roller didn’t seem to do anything beneficial. YMMV, of course.
Be patient, and best wishes on geting back to 100%
I will sadly admit that I did try compression socks post run to see if it would assist with recovery. I realize they aren’t miracle drugs, but they didn’t work. (I still like the looks of them though.)
I’ll start some of the mentioned stretches going forward.
Last year I did ice alot post run; but I haven’t done it once this year so need to start that process back. It’s pretty easy to move on and start the next project after a ride/run, but it’s apparent I need to spend a bit longer post exercise to to prep for the next outing.
Yep, some problem here. Kept me from doing B2B last year and has started up again this year. I have found that giving myself a hard deep tissue massage every night, whether you have run or not, seems to help the most.
I have noticed that it seems to be worse when I have done a long bike ride the previous day. I’m starting to suspect that biking is iritating the situation. Good luck.
IMHO, Soleal myositis is rare and would manifest more as achilles tendonosis and/or midcalf to heel discomfort. When the calf is tight, the flexor hallucis muscle will over work and become sore. It fits the picture of decreased flexibiliy in the lower extremity. Test it by renewing the shoes, doing a 15 min non exertional jog or trainer, stretch calves and hamstrings to moderate intensity 5 minutes then hit your intended run. Post result if possible.
I’ve had some calf issues on and off. As riltri mentioned, I give myself a hard massage every day on my lower legs and it seems to help a lot. However, recently I had a partial tear to a ligament in my ankle two plus months ago. I could still run on flat surfaces but I think there was some compensating going on and finally my calf took the brunt of it and seized up badly to the point I couldn’t run a step. My advice is to find someone really good in ART (Active Release) and work with them. If you find someone good, they can help get you through your injury sooner vs. later. I went within the week and it helped tremendously and they worked on a bunch of stuff (tightness all over).
I’ve had lower leg issues off and on over the years. I highly recommend post run stretching. I’m finding as my flexibility increases many of these nagging issues are reduced proportionally. I’m learning new leg and hip stretches all the time. You probably ought to break into this slowly. It takes a long time to gain flexibility, but it will be worth it.
I’ve also found that if I don’t relax my calves a bit on the bike, they hurt more running. I think all of my calf cramping issues were related to having my ankle locked into one position while riding. I try to be a little more supple while pedaling now.