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Soccer is killing my running (Read 1295 times)

    talk about type A's - then hung it up when the beer league back home got too rough.

     

    I also gave up beer league hockey for the same reason. It was no longer fun playing with men from 25-60 years of age swinging fists and sticks at each other and threatening to wait in the parking lot after the game. One hit by someone twice my size and running could hurt for two months.

    LedLincoln


    not bad for mile 25

      Are you saying I shouldn't be playing Ultimate with these whippersnappers three decades my junior?
      Hoban-Jay


        I started playing in an over 40 soccer league this Fall, and it is really hurting my running.  We play on Sundays and I find that for the next few days after each game, my runs feel like crap.  My hips, ankles and knees hurt (or at least ache) and I have developed a pretty severe pain on the top of my left foot, which I can only imagine comes from all the stopping and turning associated with playing soccer in cleats.

         

        Anyone else have similar problems and how did you get through it.  I've played in 4 games so far and it has gotten slightly better after this weeks game, but I had hoped by now I would be used to soccer and back to normal running.

         Soccer IS running!  That's the only reason my friends want me to play on their team...because I can run and can stay in the game (otherwise I just suck at the sport). 

         

        Two ideas:

         

        1.  Treat Soccer Sundays as you would a long run or speed interval.  Take the day after off, get massage, rest, ice etc...whatever you normally do after (because of) a hard run or race, do the same for Soccer Sundays.

         

        2.  Ease up on running until your legs and body become used to the OverUse Syndrome of Soccer Sunday.

         

        3.  Do both 1. and 2. to ensure that you don't have more serious overuse injuries in the future.

         

        ========

        As a side note....   I played in an over league way, way, way back when I was 28.  No one ever question my age, which now, really bugs me, because either I LOOKED like I was over 40, even though I was 28....or I sucked so bad that no one on the opposing teams cared how old I was!!!

        Julia1971


          Are you saying I shouldn't be playing Ultimate with these whippersnappers three decades my junior?

           

          As the expression goes, "Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill".  Smile 

           

          Training aside, +1 to the risk of injury considerations.  It's another reason why I'm hestiant to play right now.  And, all those jerky movements are not kind to the knees and ankles.

          Matt Basile


            I got into Soccer on sundays with my girlfriend last spring. I ran xc and track in hs and college, and since labor day i've been getting serious about my training again. Problem is what to do with Sundays?!

             

            I've decided to use sundays as a workout day. But i also make sure i get a proper warm-up/cool-down before and after the game. I started with 5 min before and after and now i bumped up to 10min before and 5 min after, eventually i'll be at 10min before and 10 after. Not only is it a great way to warm up  your muscles and joints before you embark on the twists and turns and stops and gos of soccer, but its also a way to get a short run in as well. I know it might not feel good or be the easiest thing after the game either, but take the 5 min and your legs, which may be tired the next day, but some of that soreness tends to go away.

             

            I'm not sure what the effect of soccer is on my running yet, seeing as i haven't seriously competed or trained in a long time, but I don't think i've had an adverse affect from the game yet. I also tend to do my long runs on saturday the day before the soccer games, at a relaxed pace, so i don't know if that's a good thing or not either. None of this is ideal, but it's how i'm able to get everything into my schedule.

             

            My first race back is in november, so i guess we can see how it goes then. But in my opinion, get a long warm-up/cool-down, your teammates may not get it, but it will definitely help, a lot! and it will let you continue to enjoy the best of both worlds!


            12-week layoff

              Soccer's killing my running too, only it's my kids' soccer I'm talking about. 

               Beat me to it!


              Hoodoo Guru

                I finally retired two years ago at age 51 from competitive recreational soccer.  Went from open league to over 30 league and finally quit as all of my friends moved to over 40.  Plus we bought a house out of foreclosure that needed work, and I decided it was time to give some weekends back to my wife and children.  Soccer killed my running because playing a soccer game and doing a long run on the same weekend just never worked out too well for me.  

                The tangents are moot.

                 

                 

                 


                "run" "2" "eat"

                  i play soccer once or twice a week, and sure sometimes i'm tired or sore or hurt, but damn i love that game. now that i'm older i have to rearrange running to accommodate soccer, but it all comes down to what you want out of life. i want a little bit of everything. some people want a lot of one thing. whatever, different strokes. i did change to turf shoes over cleats a few years ago because turfs offer better stability, weight distribution, and flexibility. the fields we play on are generally too hard for cleats anyway. 

                   

                  my favorite running+soccer memory is the day i ran the flying monkey marathon, hopped in the car, and went to play soccer. we were in the finals of the league championship - no way i was missing that game. lucky for me, we dominated, because i was not worth much on the field, but still, that was a fantabulous day.

                  i find the sunshine beckons me to open up the gate and dream and dream ~~robbie williams

                  foooster


                    just finished 15 years of playing and coching

                    time to run again

                    dean 2.20.31


                    Hoodoo Guru

                      i play soccer once or twice a week, and sure sometimes i'm tired or sore or hurt, but damn i love that game. now that i'm older i have to rearrange running to accommodate soccer, but it all comes down to what you want out of life. i want a little bit of everything. some people want a lot of one thing. whatever, different strokes. i did change to turf shoes over cleats a few years ago because turfs offer better stability, weight distribution, and flexibility. the fields we play on are generally too hard for cleats anyway. 

                       

                      my favorite running+soccer memory is the day i ran the flying monkey marathon, hopped in the car, and went to play soccer. we were in the finals of the league championship - no way i was missing that game. lucky for me, we dominated, because i was not worth much on the field, but still, that was a fantabulous day.

                       

                      I remember that day.  You have my utmost respect.  After the marathon that day, I took a nap.

                      The tangents are moot.

                       

                       

                       

                      bob2121


                        Soccer is great for your running, in moderation.  As long ast you are careful about your knees and avoid hard tackles, the extra muscles and flexibility that you develop playing soccer can actually help to prevent injury.  When you use one muscle group (eg. the "running forward" muscles) and none of the others you create areas where some muscles are stronger and put more strain on your joints than others.  This can cause joint pain.  By playing soccer and strengthening muscles - hip flexors, hips, hamstrings - that you may not use heavily when running can help alleviate some undue strain in your joints.

                         

                        A corollory:  You are using muscles you don't usually use. They will get sore and it will take some adjustment to using new parts of your body; the same thing happens if you were to start or change a weight lifting regimen.

                         

                        As far as foot pain is concerned, I have had problems in the past with tight soccer shoes causing tendonitis or brusing on the tops of my feet.  I never found a solution to this other than make sure to buy bigger shoes!

                        PRs:  3k - 9:17, 5k - 15:56, half - 1:23 

                        CMJHawk86


                          I ran XC/track in HS and college, then in adulthood took up soccer. At my footballing peak I played on 3-4 teams and had multiple matches each week. 

                           

                          At age 40 I got the running bug again and since then have run 9 marathons, including a 3:20 at Chicago this past weekend. Nowadays, at 48, I play on only one soccer team, and at that as a reserve off the bench for a coed team that my wife also plays on. I'm fine with that, though on occasion with a thin lineup I may start and even play the full 90. 

                           

                          No question running has become my top sport. But my one remaining team has been together for a long team and those friendships still mean a lot to us, and that's what keeps me playing. I've made the compromise with age and reality, that if I want to be a good master's runner I need to limit my soccer time. I find that if I manage it properly it doesn't impact my running. It probably helps, though, that Monday is my typical rest day.


                          Ostrich runner

                            I quit running in my early 20s, I realized in retrospect due to the soreness and bruising playing soccer. I wasn't particularly skillful, but teams wanted me in a sort of enforcer role. The leagues I played in had essentially no refs (one in the middle of the field usually drunk or hungover), so the enforcer role was an important and taxing one. I injured a few other people in my last couple years playing, and I knew karma was coming, so I quit. Several years later and the pain hadn't gone away from my knees and ankles, but I decided I'd rather run. Ultimately, the running cured the ails. I'm not going back.

                            http://www.runningahead.com/groups/Indy/forum

                              Unless you're Bo Jackson it is tough to stay at peak for both soccer and running.  You're going to give a little somewhere.

                               

                              Soccer can help running (that's how I originally discovered distance running) but can also hurt as others have described the knee and ankle injuries.  Running will help your soccer conditioning, obviously.

                               

                              To play at the highest level possible in both - don't run too hard the day before your soccer game and be prepared to edit the workout the day after...maybe 2 days after depending on how you feel.  Your rest/recovery is important and pay attention to your body.  On the other side, treat soccer as a speed/interval workout day and structure your running program around it. Stretch and prepare to be sore as you're using different muscles.  You likely either have to give a little with your mileage to incorporate soccer or you're going to be flat in the games trying to hold your mileage through it.

                               

                              Not sure how old you are but at 37 playing ice hockey, I don't do more than jog a couple miles the day before a game and end up sore the day after - sometimes the 6 or 7 mile run becomes 4 or 5.  If I do race I do not race the same weekend as a Sunday game (though will if we play on Thursday or Tuesday).  I used to just train through - even run a few miles on the day of a game - but can't do that any more without feeling shredded by the end of the first period.  With proper rest/preparation I can actually play all 45 minutes of a game when we're short and keep up with the 22 year olds.

                               

                              Your perspective makes a difference.  I am trying to just be competitive in both sports so I feel I can adjust to the hockey schedule and not missing much.  If you prioritize one over the other you may frustrate yourself if you don't subordinate the one you're not as focused on.

                              Cyberic


                                Very interesting thread.

                                 

                                I play ball hockey every tuesday and have been doing that for 5-6 years now. I started running this summer to get in shape for the ball hockey season as I'm 42 and there are some 20 year old kids playing with us.

                                 

                                I think ball hockey is a bit like playing indoor soccer, I'm talking about the muscles involved, the quick changes of directions, etc.

                                 

                                And yes, running has improved my hockey playing a lot, not skill-wise, but in efficiency, but this thread is making me realize that hockey might be killing my running.

                                 

                                Interesting indeed...

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