Limping wrote:
It doesn't seem to matter how much I train. Every time I race a 1/2 marathon really hard, I get so sore that I'm limping for several days. My quads just get trashed. Is this normal, and just a sign of racing hard?
My weekly mileage was 40-60 with some quality thresholds and long runs, and my race time was 1:10.
Nice time for the amount of training. I think your issue is after the race. Do you cooldown? How much stretching do you do? Post race massage? What nutrition do you get in?
After I race a hard half marathon, to ensure I almost do not hurt at all...
1) 2-3mi cooldown
2) 20 minute stretching
3) Post race stretch/massage if available
4) Protein foods/drink to help recover.
5) Nap with legs up/elevated (compression socks too).
This works great for me. I raced a half marathon this past Sunday and was fine by Monday night. Sometimes, I am lazy and skip these and then I am in pain for about 2-3 days.