What did I do wrong

[FooFooCuddlyPoops]

Hey guys,

So I went on a hike Sunday, the white oak/cedar run loop, with a few friends. We were going to do just a in and out of 6 miles, but decided to do the entire 8 miles loop. The hike started out immediately with a hellish downhill of rock steps. I am short, so all of the steps had me straining to reach down without having to jump.

It was probably 3-4 miles of down hill rock steps. A mile of gentle terrain. And the rest ether switch backs up straight up hill, or a steady uphill walk.

pre-hike: I had been sick the last four days with one hell of a sinus infection. I was still congested on the ride to the trail head, but it cleared right up with the hike. It was cold the day of the hike, and I didn't do any pre-stretch like a dumb-a$$.

Heres were here things get interesting: while the hike was fun, I noticed that I was weak in the legs. They felt out of place. I am usually a goat on rocks, but that day I felt like a elephant. I shouldn't of been that way since I hike every week, and walk a lot. My guess was that my sickness still effected my balance and I was still weak from the infection.

But...I pulled the top thigh muscles on my thighs. Monday, the day after the hike, I could barely walk. Stairs? I used railings like a crutch. I couldn't stand up from chairs, or lift my legs. I had never pulled those muscles before!

what do you think I did to strain those muscles? Was it obviously the downhill with no warm up? Or, maybe just the sickness combined with no warm up?

today, Thursday, I am still in some mild discomfort. I can kinda jog and go up steps, but downhill is still a sensitive area. I took it easy and iced my legs to let them heal right.

meanwhile...my feet felt fine in my brand new hiking shoes and Plantar Fasciitis insoles!!!! For the first time in my hiking life, I had absolutely no food pain.

[burger]

I'd bet you didn't strain anything. Sounds like delayed-onset muscle soreness--you just overdid what your muscles were capable of. The soreness is a sign that your muscles were overworked and need a little time off to recuperate. I'd bet that if you did the hike again after a few more days to recover, you'd have much less pain following the hike.

It's pretty unlikely that you have an actual muscle strain (damage to the muscle or tendons) in both legs. One leg would be possible, but both would be a pretty big coincidence. If it is DOMS, the pain should go away within another day or two.

[FooFooCuddlyPoops]

I figured it was just something like over use, etc. it was just odd that it happened when I should of be okay on the hike. The downhill caught me off guard I guess. The back of my knees, that big tendon, did hurt like a sob the night of my hike.

I just consider this as a training hike for my section in May. �� I hiked while sick with some pretty serious grades. The pain didn't stop me from being happy and ready to hike it again.

[Another Kevin]

Muscle and joint aches are common with infections anywhere in the body.

One of the functions of white blood cells is rebuilding muscle and joint tissue. When there's an infection, the immune system diverts white blood cells to fighting it, leaving your muscles less able to recover. Moreover, when fighting infection, the white blood cells release chemicals called interleukins and cytokines, which promote inflammation. Some of these inflammatory chemicals wind up in the general circulation and trigger inflammation elsewhere in the body.

So I'd blame the sinus infection for most of the symptoms.

[la.lindsey]

I would guess that you're sore because of the new shoes and insoles. Different posture/gait is using different muscles in your legs.


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[RockDoc]

The only way to make a hard hike easier is to do an even harder hike first.

[Lone Wolf]

steps on a hiking trail are stupid

[Dogwood]

Starting out cold on terrain like that in your situation not being mindful of gradually adjusting to the possible deep step down jolting plodding along especially with others at their pace in a different situation rather than yours I've seen soreness...or worse... happen.

The other thing you did wrong is adopt a damn long User name. From now on it's FFCP. It sounds like an official title.

[Dogwood]

that's a demanding hike ...

[FooFooCuddlyPoops]

http://www.hikingupward.com/SNP/WhiteOakCedarRun/

that is the trail we did. It was a hard trail for me only because I just couldn't seem to pick up my pace. I felt weak the entire time we hiked, but not out of breath weak. My body just didn't have any energy.

Dogwood; my sn is from a show called avatar. Foofoocuddlypoops is the name of the baby saber tooth moose lion they found. It
stuck....haha. I don't mind the nickname.

oh, I could be sore from the insoles. I have been wearing everything at work the last few weeks, however, to help wear them in before my hike. This was just the first hike outside moderate terrain they have been worn on.

Ether way, I screwed up on my hike and buy still made it. All I can do is learn and keep going.

how do you guys warm up when you know you will be doing a steep section?

[Slo-go'en]

how do you guys warm up when you know you will be doing a steep section?

By going slowly and carefully.

[Another Kevin]

how do you guys warm up when you know you will be doing a steep section?

Quad, hamstring and Achilles stretches if I'm going up. Not much I can do for down - my knees are going to feel it.

[One Half]

I figured it was just something like over use, etc. it was just odd that it happened when I should of be okay on the hike. The downhill caught me off guard I guess. The back of my knees, that big tendon, did hurt like a sob the night of my hike.

I just consider this as a training hike for my section in May. �� I hiked while sick with some pretty serious grades. The pain didn't stop me from being happy and ready to hike it again.

downhill is more strenuous on your legs than uphill. don't worry, you will heal

[egilbe]

Downhills are very hard. Get some trekking poles to take some of the strain off your legs. The gf and I did a 12 mile loop a couple weekends ago that had a 3000 ft elevation gain in about three miles. The descent was a lot of sliding down frozen, ice covered ledges. My legs were sore for three days afterwards. It happens.

[Another Kevin]

Downhills are very hard. Get some trekking poles to take some of the strain off your legs. The gf and I did a 12 mile loop a couple weekends ago that had a 3000 ft elevation gain in about three miles. The descent was a lot of sliding down frozen, ice covered ledges. My legs were sore for three days afterwards. It happens.

Ice axe glissades are fun. But are they ever hard on the body! A couple of winters ago I glissaded about a quarter mile down Blackhead (3960 feet) in the Catskills. On the walk out, my IT band seized up to the point where I just had to lie in the snow trying to stretch it for about fifteen minutes before I could get back on my snowshoes. The cramp was literally so bad that I couldn't stand without my leg buckling involuntarily. That leg hurt for a couple of days afterward. Then it was fine again.

[egilbe]

No ice axes, Hillsound trail crampons. If we had gone up the same way we went down, we wouldn't have gone. It was just a bit beyond what we expected or was equipped to do, but it was fun none the less. One of the few hikes I wished I had an ice axe.

[Another Kevin]

No ice axes, Hillsound trail crampons. If we had gone up the same way we went down, we wouldn't have gone. It was just a bit beyond what we expected or was equipped to do, but it was fun none the less. One of the few hikes I wished I had an ice axe.

I hope you took off the Hillsounds for the slides. Never glissade while pointy!

You can use a trekking pole to steer on a glissade, but if you need to self-arrest, you'll most likely wind up with a broken pole. Better a pole than nothing, though.

[burger]

Muscle and joint aches are common with infections anywhere in the body.

One of the functions of white blood cells is rebuilding muscle and joint tissue. When there's an infection, the immune system diverts white blood cells to fighting it, leaving your muscles less able to recover. Moreover, when fighting infection, the white blood cells release chemicals called interleukins and cytokines, which promote inflammation. Some of these inflammatory chemicals wind up in the general circulation and trigger inflammation elsewhere in the body.

So I'd blame the sinus infection for most of the symptoms.

Do you have any sources for this? I briefly browsed through the scientific literature on delayed onset muscle soreness and didn't see anything linking it to infections. What the OP is describing is not just run-of-the-mill soreness that you get when you're sick. They're describing soreness from overusing muscles. I don't think the illness had anything to do with it.

I've been a runner for years, and I have run through colds and other illnesses countless times. I've never had any extra soreness from doing a run while sick. Fatigue, yes. Pain, no. This sounds like a very simple case of pushing your muscles beyond what they're prepared for.

[Dogwood]

The biggest thing you did "wrong" is not doing your hike. My guess is there was a late minute decision to do the whole loop. People in your party might have given way to a let's get it done attitude. You should have let them go if that was the case or ask them to slow down because you weren't "feeling it." When folks hike in a party the common courtesy - the "Rule" - followed is only hike as fast as the slowest person. That's a given no matter where I stand as far as strength as a hiker when in a hiking party. This is common courtesy. You have to communicate where you are as a hiker though. That was not a time to go with the flow. You are a short legged person just getting over being sick. Your party should have been aware of that and everyone acted accordingly. Besides, White Oak canyon is a beautiful waterfall trail in Shenandoah NP especially after a heavy rain when not only the typical waterfalls are pumping but temporary waterfalls are being created from water going over the steep sides of the canyon in places. It's like a rain forested canyon Victoria Falls affair. Regardless, because of the scenery, steepness of trail, depth of some of the steps, slipperiness, and you're specific situation WOC and Cedar Run are places to SLOW DOWN. IMHO, that's what people should do hiking waterfalls trails anyway! I've seen several take nasty falls on waterfall trails and around waterfalls. WOC and CR being no exceptions.

There is also no shame. I know the Loop. There certainly are some very deep steps on the White Oak Canyon Tr. I've felt it too as an athletic fit giraffe with long well defined backpacker legs even on just a day hike at a moderate pace regardless if I hadn't recently been getting over being ill. Some of the deepest steps have flat rocks on the lower tread to break up the riser height. Last time I did this Loop the NPS added steps on some of the highest risers. Maybe, some made of wood and soil have washed out or sunken? You could see where people stepped outside the main tread widening the trail in places to break up the riser height too causing greater trail erosion. Because of the possible jolting going down steeper deeper height risers I also prefer doing this Loop going down Cedar Run and ascending WOC. Although, last time I experience some narrower muddy sometimes rocky "banana peel" rolly poly trail that has to be carefully descended on Cedar Run too.

IMO, for me, it's not so much the rate(pace in MPH), daily duration(hrs on the move), slabs, or even 1000's of ft of elevation change on decently tractionable terrain that I find so physical with hiking. FWIW, one of the more physical aspects IMO of hiking is navigating - ascending or descending - deep high risers. It's not good for the joints, ligaments, quads, possibly feet and ankles, possibly back, hips, etc descending deep risers especially under a load. I will avoid descending deep risers where I can especially with a weighted backpack to save my body.

[Another Kevin]

Do you have any sources for this? I briefly browsed through the scientific literature on delayed onset muscle soreness and didn't see anything linking it to infections. What the OP is describing is not just run-of-the-mill soreness that you get when you're sick. They're describing soreness from overusing muscles. I don't think the illness had anything to do with it.

I've been a runner for years, and I have run through colds and other illnesses countless times. I've never had any extra soreness from doing a run while sick. Fatigue, yes. Pain, no. This sounds like a very simple case of pushing your muscles beyond what they're prepared for.

You're right that delayed onset muscle soreness is a different phenomenon, but the original poster was reporting problems during the hike as well. Those problems are more likely to be cytokine release, or perhaps something else related to a feverish illness, such as dehydration or potassium deficiency. The illness also would make it harder to judge whether you're overdoing, particularly in an activity that's new to you.

I'll concede that it's probably some combination of illness-related muscle aches and DOMS.

I can say from personal experience that overuse injuries take longer to heal when you're fighting an infection elsewhere.