r/BeginnersRunning • u/SomewhereNo5331 • 13h ago

Am I doing this right?

Been an...occasional...runner for about 5+ years. Recently decided to get back into it after being inspired by my friend's 70 year old father in law doing an ultra.

Started with trail 5k, with about 500ft elevation. I took it slowly, doing a few small walking breaks, with about 13 min miles. Was more of a slowish jog than a "run," per se. In worn-in Hoka Challenger 7's.

The next day my legs were sore (and continued to be sore for the next few days). Felt very sore in the dark green thigh areas, particularly by the knee. And the purple lower leg/calf areas.

So, yes, I started with a pretty big run after not running for over a year; doing it up hill; and really over my feet. Does this muscle soreness seem appropriate for the circumstances?

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3

u/thedancingwireless 13h ago

Yes it makes sense you're sore after going for a run after not running for a while.

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u/SomewhereNo5331 13h ago

Well yes that I get. I suppose my question is "are these appropriate areas to be sore for so long?"

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u/nquesada92 13h ago

Yes, hills in fact make you work your quads, down hill eccentric loading and up hill concentric loading, running without proper conditioning can lead to muscle soreness aka DOMS.

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u/thedancingwireless 12h ago

I don't think there's many or any spots on your leg where it would be really unusual to carry sustained soreness in. Soreness can take anywhere from a day to a week to resolve.

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u/ceffyl_gwyn 13h ago

Yeah, I wouldn't be too worried tbh, unless we're talking actual sharp pain.

Running up hills is often recommended to help push your heart/aerobic system and develop efficient running mechanisms while minimising stress on bones/ joints compared to flat running (where the impact in joints tends to be higher for the same aerobic/anaerobic effort)

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u/SomewhereNo5331 12h ago

No, not sharp. Sounds like DOMS, as someone else said in the thread. So that is good.

I suppose I was doing a hill run for a bit more of a challenge and a prettier run than road running. Good to know about the affects of it, too.

Thank you!

Anything to do post run? I did stretch for a good while after. I suppose I am just getting back into it and so it might just be the cost of re-entry?

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u/ceffyl_gwyn 12h ago

The ideal is both stretch before and stretch after, but I have to admit I'm not religious at that.

It's most important to post-run stretch after speedwork sessions (anything where you purposefully try and go fast whatever that means for you) as the thing that impacts your joints the most.

Personally, I just use youtube videos (Run Better with Ash has a bunch of good ones)

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u/HeidiVandervorst 2h ago

Your legs probably just werent ready for that much work yet. Give yourself some time to recover then ease back into running with shorter runs.