Quote Originally Posted by Wahine View Post

So the key to this question is how hard was this person running? The only way to know the answer is to know what this person's lactate threshold is. This can be done with a VO2 max test, or it can be simulated with the help of a friend on a track test.
I would guess that this person was running above their lactate threshold. When you do this you are expending more energy than you're body can produce with aerobic metabolism and you will produce lactic acid. Without flushing the lactate out after the race, there will be inflammation and painful tension in the muscles the following day. That's one theory anyway. The other theory is that the pain has nothing to do with lactic acid and that the pain and inflammation comes from small tears in the muscle fibres. I think it's a combination. So what can you do to ease it...
I suspect you are right. I was running over my theoretical max HR for the last km, and approx. 95% of max for the last 2km. (I had estimated my max HR at 185 on the bike but I reached 193 during the race. I know that bike and running HR zones can be different.) You are also right when you say, this is a race, so it's probably ok to work at that zone and then expect "discomfort" the next day or so. I've only been running for 2-1/2 months so I would also expect that this will improve as I run more and build up endurance. Yeah, my age is a factor as well

I'm glad to know it's ok to run that hard once in awhile. Most of the time, I am more reasonable but I do like to push myself sometimes.

Thanks for the recovery suggestions. I will try all of it next time. Do you have any thoughts about stuff like sportleggs or e-caps etc?