Help for very sore legs?

Question

I'm turning 15 next month and I will be a freshman, and I just started cross country conditioning with the highschool[started monday june 9]. We started out running 3 miles everyday and are doing that now, but my legs are very sore and I only have sundays to rest them as we are running 5-6 days a week! I know its not stretching because we stretch very well before and after, I have been taking in a lot of protein to try and fix this also. What can I do if I only have 1-2 resting days in the week to prevent from being injured? I also do not run very fast at all?[about a 9 minute mile]

Answer 1

Tell your coach that you are very sore. He should loosen up your work outs since youre just a freshmen. Try taking it easy for the next couple days, and your legs will adjust to the heavy running.

Answer 2

ICE ice your legs it the cure for sore

Answer 3

if you just started running, you may need to take a couple days off.  an ice bath may also help.  talk to your coach about your pains.  ask your coach if you should take a couple days off.  if you have too, you may need to slow down.  i know thats not that fast, but since you just started, it may be hard on your legs. iceyhot may also work.  chack out some running websites or books to see if it says anything about it.

Answer 4

the heat pads and the ice baths are by far great but if you want fast relief they have a thng called the stick. all you do is rub it up and down your legs and the pain goes away

here is a url of them:http://www.runnersgear.com/page/R/CTGY/I...

Answer 5

Soak in a very warm epsom salts bath.

Answer 6

I use those hot and cold packs and just keep switching them.I dont run but i play Hockey realy helps!

Answer 7

i don't run, i play hockey and when i go home at night... i either take a long bath or jump in our hot tub. a heat pad works pretty well too :)

hope you feel better.

Answer 8

i just started running again with the xc team on june 9th too, one thing you should know is that the first two weeks are h**l to put it nicely. because your mental mindset isnt there yet, but there is nothing you really can do for the soreness that i know of besides stretching, after the first two weeks the soreness should go away because youll start to get use to the conditioning and be in shape at that time, so youll get use to the soreness.

Answer 9

It could be that you are stretch too much post run. After the run, you muscle already have some damage due to the run that you are not used to, stretching will make it worse. So, do NOT stretch immediately after the run, wait for 15 min. then do some LIGHT stretch, that will help a lot.

Answer 10

If it is your calves that are sore, then there is a very good chance that you have some changes that you need to make with your running mechanics.  You need to run more on the balls of your feet with the heels just grazing the ground.  If you have too much heel strike you can cause stress fractures and knee issues.

For just general soreness, you should do ice baths after practice.  You can either fill up the tub with ice water and submerge your entire lower body which is going to be intense, but will have good results.  Or you can take a small trash can that when you fill with ice water will cover up to your lower calves.  

Here are the steps:

Step 1:  Immediately after a hard run, race, or long run, fill the bathtub with cold water.

Step2:  Add ice cubes so that the water reaches 54 to 60 degrees.

Step3:  Eat a post-run snack

Step4:  Put on a hat a sweater, or wrap a towel around your shoulders to keep your upper body warm.

Step5:  Soak in icy water for at least 10 minutes.

Step6:  Hop out, dry off, eat your full post-run meal.

Step7:  Take a warm shower 30 to 60 minutes later (any sooner will negate the benefits of the ice bath).

Here is the why from Craig Smith noted physiotherapist:  So how do ice baths help to boost the body's recovery processes and prevent injury?

When you get into an ice bath for five to 10 minutes, the icy cold water causes your blood vessels to tighten and drains the blood out of your legs. After 10 minutes your legs feel cold and numb.

So when Wilko gets out of the bath, his legs fill up with 'new' blood that invigorates his muscles with oxygen to help the cells function better.

At the same time, the more blood coming into Jonny's legs will have to leave as well, draining away and at the same time taking with it the lactic acid that has built up from his match.

Though this will feel like the longest 10 minutes of your life, the results are pretty incredible.  I have done this after full day tournaments and use this for my athletes for regeneration sessions.

Stay away from warm water.  Basically although it will feel good in the short term you are actually promoting muscle inflammation.  Think about a pitcher after a game, he has a taxing workout on his arm, then he ices it. The same thing here.  Paula Radcliffe, world renowned marathoner swears by them.  

Good luck!

Answer 11

i run faster than u. but anyway try to soak in warm water in the bathtub. or if u can fill a tub with ice cubes and bare the cold. u should feel better the next day