Is this lactate??

Hi all

I am still a fairly new runner.  When I have been jogging for a couple of minutes my calf muscles start burning and it gets so bad I have to slow to a walk for a minute or two and then I can jog again... and so on. Is this lactate building up in my calf muscles?

If so should I "run through it with gritted teeth" until it clears? Will it clear? Or should I carry on having walk breaks until i can run further and further each time? I am really not sure what I should be doing to help this problem, and I can't seem to find a proper answer on here yet!! Thanks for any advice )

it is very unlikely to be lactate building up if you have been jogging a couple of minutes (but then one persons jogging is another persons sprinting!). I would look for some dynamic stretching exercises that involve the calf muscles and see if this helps. Carry them out before you start your run. Or you could try a foam roller on the calves to help stretch out the muscles

Thanks Also! To be honest I don't strech at all before a run because so many people say that walking is the best was to warm up and that you shouldn't strech a cold muscle... however, in this month's RW mag I did see an article saying many runners walk/jog a few mins and then stop to strech leg muscles before carrying on and upping their pace... so I think I will try that, walk for 5 mins like I do and then stop and strech my calf muscles before I start jogging!! Thanks again

To be honest, I don't stretch, unless I suspect things are getting a bit tight. If you do stretch before walking / running, have a search for dynamic stretching. The traditional static stretches are best left for warmed up muscles

Ok will do! Thanks

Just a quick update - I have started streching before I run, and today I decided to try rolling my calfs with a rolling pin before my run and the difference was amazing! My calf muscles did not burn at all and I was able to run a lot more than I usually would have, so I think I have a result!!!