Tired legs

[Tim]

I wasn't sure if I should post this here or in injuries but it is not really an injury so I guess here will do.  The question is when I wake up in the mornings my legs are very heavy and even hurt to walk on for the first 10 minutes or so.  I do most of my running in the morning so it really takes a good mile before my legs even start to think they want to move.  I wonder if this is just due to my diet, such as not drinking enough fluids or not enough of a certain vitamin or just my legs are tired in the morning and get used to it?  Any thoughts?

[Dallen]

That's how I feel most mornings.

[jtshad]

You may want to look at your training to make sure you are overdoing it and that you are eating and hydrating well, but I am with Dallen, I wake up with some general lethargy and it takes me a while to get going as well.

[Sasha Pachev]

Double check sleep and diet. If that part is off, the results are unpredictable.

[April G]

I always have to slowly shuffle for the first mile at least on all my runs--it just takes me a while to warm up.  After that things pick up on their own, but I usually don't hit my full cruising speed or feel great until about 3, sometimes 4 miles into the run.

[Fredrick Teichert]

I'm glad to hear it takes the rest of you awhile to warm up! I thought this must just be age related, because for the first couple of miles I feel like I look like that one cheerleader on the squad whose limbs go everywhere but forward when she runs. (I'm pretty sure every high school has at least one.) Anyway, my favorite miles are 3-6, and 8-10. My least favorite mile is the one between my bed and the bathroom, particularly at 4:00 in the morning.

[Kelsey S]

I am suffering through this exact same thing. I am definitely not overtraining,  I am getting plenty of sleep, and I have a pretty good diet (good amount of fruits and veggies, no fast food, lots of h20). The past week though I haven't been able to get my legs off the ground for the first 4 miles or so. It's pretty bad, and somewhat painful, especially in my calves. It is kind of like a burning sensation in my calves, and the "clumsy cheerleader" feeling in my legs making my feet hit the ground harder. I have no idea what is going on, but my times are somewhat suffering and my runs are not fun 

I am just going to keep pushing though and hope it goes away. I can run decent times but they require a lot more effort. I definitely can't run close to a PR like this though, so I can't wait for it to pass.

[Scott]

I am having similar issues.  I totally concur with this last post.  I can work my way through a workout, but it takes awhile for things to feel as they should.  I do hope it is temporary and will pass....

[April]

I get a tight pain feeling on my outer legs. Just the opposite side of where you would feel shin pain...is that what you are talking about? Sometimes the pain seems to connect with the arches of my feet. what is that about?

[Sasha Pachev]

Kelsey:

I looked at your blog and spotted a few trouble spots. Without addressing them the results are unpredictable. Injuries, muscle fatigue, etc would not be a surprise.

http://kelseystraining.fastrunningblog.com/blog-week-03-29-2009.html

"Hooray for not being too busy to cook dinner!"

I take it that being able to cook dinner is an unusual occasion. What happens on the nights when you are too busy to cook dinner?

Your good dinner contained white flour and refined sugars, so I think it is safe to assume bad dinners contain that as well. Some bodies are stronger than others and could handle that with almost no effect on the recovery and overall body health. Others are not that strong. I know mine is not. For me, white flour without refined sugars had a cost of almost 6 minutes in the marathon. I do not know about what it would have been with the refined sugars.

You do not run 6 days a week for fear of being injured, but you did 4x1200 on March 31. Then a tempo run two days later. In your current state you should direct all of your running capability to running as often as you can and as many miles as possible. Refer to

http://asksasha.com/Running/Top-10-Training-Mistakes.html