Ah, Gait checking is really7 valuable so if you do see any stores that offer it, it could be well worth a check. Websites can often give you a good understanding of how they work and why they make a difference. I think the Asics site has more info and could be worth a check.
When I talk about upper or lowe, I mean the leg, upper part of the leg being above the knee, lower part of the leg being below the knee. If you can find out which muscle it is, it could really help you so checking sites with a full muscle picture may help you find which muscle it is. Physioroom has some good muscle images and also advises what you can do if x muscle is injured.
Stretching makes a difference. To me it makes a huge difference, I don't stretch after exercise and aside from being very stiff the next day, an injury is just a matter what is going to 'go' next. Youtube have some great videos,
This guy has several videos (look down the right hand side list)
A few things to remember: stretches are not magical or special, you should feel them, if you don't feel a stretch pulling, change posture and try to get into a position where you can feel the stretch.
With quad stretching (stand on one leg, hold wall for stability, bend other leg backwards at the knee so your heel flicks into your bottom). Make sure both legs are pointed downwards. Thighs touching, so many people do this stretch wrong by ****ing their leg to the side and stretching the groin, missing the quad muscles out completely.
A good stretch to do is to stand both toes together, heels about 2 inches apart. Keeping your legs straight, touch your toes. If this is easy try placing both hands palms down onto the floor or under your feet and arch your back upwards. You should get a nice stretch behind your knees. But careful not to overstretch this area, it is easy to do so and can cause alot of pain. What your looking for is the tension. Each few weeks you'll notice your able to go abit further.
A final one to add to the list (btw you need more then these 3 stretches, these are just my top 3). Stand on a step or ledge. Being able to hang onto a wall or similar can help. Have one foot flat on the step, the other food with the heel over the edge of the step. Now this next bit takes concerntration: stretch the heel downwards so you feel a stretch on the back of the leg. Next your going to bend that leg at the knee but keeping the foot and heel in EXACTLY the same position. It is best done slowly and may take some practice to get right. What your looking for is a stretch at the lower calf/heel (I am guessing where your talking about?) hold for as long as you can. It takes practice like I say but does make a difference.
Good areas to stretch are the calves, the lower calves, the quads, the groin, the back and the upper arms.
I'd say general rule of thumb is to hold for 30 seconds at a minimum (if you have run for up to 30 mins) I have to hold for 1 min at least to really get the benefit. Many people I see hold for like 5, 10 seconds then leg go, this does nothing.
What you have to understand is that when used and overloaded (normal when training), your muscle gets lots of little micro tears (this is normal). It also shrinks.
When you come to stretch, you have to un-shrink the muscle so it retains its legnth and also heals properly. Also when you exercise, your muscles produce toxins, one example is lactic acid. This gets flushed through your muscles and out through your liver and kidneys, your body knows what to do with the toxins. But when you stop exercising, especially if you don't cool down, the toxins can collect in your muscles, they are not being circulated and if your not stretching, can cause pain. Stretching and drinking well can help with the toxins which would otherwise collect and eat at your muscles.
Foam rollers are really helpful. But they tend to work best on quads (thigh muscles). I have no experience of using them on calves. Youtube has some great instruction videos (go for the ones with the highest views) but as you mention the heel area, I would strongly advise you look into gait checks. 70% of the population over-pronates, this means their feet land inwards. only 20% is neutral. But if you look at sports shoes, over 80% of them are designed for neutral runners. Its difficult to find the correct trainers and so help yourself prevent injury. 10% of runners underpronate which means their foot rolls the other direction. Its really not so easy to tell yourself if your feet do either of the three. This is why gait analysis exists. I didn't find out till I had mine checked and it made such a difference. There are also varying degrees of pronation, some worse then others.
I can only really advise trainers I know the name of that work for over pronation with Asics as this seems to be the brand which works for me (Foundation 7 or 8, Kayano 15 or 16) but there are other brands such as Brooks, Mizano, Saucony. Unfortunetly brands such as Nike or Puma or similar tend to make neutral shoes, their over pronation shoes are few and far between if at all. Please do some reading into it and if you can try some trainers for over pronation it could help.
Your workouts though seem great, rest days, excellent and water, fab. Hopefully you'll get to the root of this and get rid of the pain (which I would class as an injury).
Just remember though, pain is a warning, its your body telling you something is not right. For this reason you need to bear it in mind. It is common for the pain to subside when you are 15 mins into a run- this is the endophines kicking in and knocking out the pain. It is not normal however, to have the pain keep recurring or for it to hurt afterwards. When this happens it shows a weakness and this can quickly develop into an injury and trust me, where legs are concerned, prevention is better then cure. If you get an even worse injury- if this one develops, you could find yourself off running for several months whilst it heals and thats no fun.
Can you get to a doctor or a physio? it could be they may be able to diagnose professionally and so you know what your looking for then.
