uʍop ǝpᴉsdn sǝʇᴉɹʍ ʇI
I've been thinking about this ankle/ligament/tendon thing that has been bothering me and realized that it could be a result of running at least 95% of my miles in the street against traffic. Streets in my area are not completely level; they are slightly arced so the rain won't puddle. Running against traffic caused my right foot to turn inward with every step, possibly resulting in my problem. Should I put more miles in on the track? At the school where I take DD2 for swim practice, they just (this week) opened a new all weather track and field turf football field. Running on a track would keep my feet level, right? If I can take the monotony, I may try to run 12 miles on the track today, switching directions every few miles. Could this possibly help my ankle? Sorry to be long winded.
Are we there, yet?
Running on the track has its own set of problems, so you may be simply exchanging one set for another. Keeping track of laps and boredom are the ones most frequently mentioned, and alternating directions every few miles will alleviate to some extent any stress issues due to the number of turns you run. Something that many runners don't think about is that on a flat track you don't get any variance in surface or elevation, and that can lead to more fatigue. Think about the natural variances you get running on the roads, even flat ones. Those require changes in stride, albeit sometimes very minute, that can offer some relief to tired muscles as they need to adapt and change they way they work.
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Is there are sidewalk you could run on? If so, just switch up run with and against traffic. Because of my pre-condition I run 75% of the time with my left ankle on the downward slope.
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For crazy fast runners like yourself, the corners might be a problem. It would help to reverse direction. Are there alternating direction rules on your track? Maybe you can cut the corners a little if there are no penguins getting in the way.
Or, you could just move to a country that drives on the left. Then you can have both ankles turning inward.
Sounds like you could use a Lagunitas, Jack.
delicate flower
I would advise against running on the track because it is currently under 30 feet of snow.
<3
I had a similar injury due to a similar cause and it took about two weeks to figure out the stretch of my route that was causing it and then a week or so before the pain slowly went away, but eventually it did.
The most important thing is that you have likely found the root cause, working your way around and through the issue can be tricky but the biggest hurdle is usually finding out what the hell is causing it in the first place.
Nice work yo.
"I suspect everyone and I suspect no one"
From the Internet.
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Team TJ
When the majority of my miles are done at 5am, I try to vary sides of the road. I can safely do that where we live (rural) because if I don't I start to feel it in my hips. On the flat bike paths in town I don't have any issues. Mind you, I'm far slower and shorter distances than you are running.
Running for TJ because he can't.
I would advise against running with traffic unless it's very sparse, for safety's sake. If you have a 400m track that's not under 30 feet of snow, by all means, use it as *part* of your training.
(I've basically given up on the small indoor track at the Y because it's 11 laps to the mile, and my calves were getting really pissed off about all the sharp turns, especially when slowbies forced me to the sharpest turns on the inside lane.)
12 miles done; 5 on the streets/sidewalks and 7 on the new track. My ankle was bothering me but I can run through it. That being said, I hope I'm not making it worse.
Like Robert, I will only run on the right side of the road in the morning darkness when no cars are on the road. I've had too many close calls and I trust no driver. When I run it never ceases to amaze me how many drivers are doing something besides watching the road.
Thanks for the advice and input.
For crazy fast runners like yourself, the corners might be a problem. It would help to reverse direction. Are there alternating direction rules on your track? Maybe you can cut the corners a little if there are no penguins getting in the way. Or, you could just move to a country that drives on the left. Then you can have both ankles turning inward. Sounds like you could use a Lagunitas, Jack.
That's how I strained / tore my post-tib tendon. Doing speedwork rounding 90 degree turns at a metro park In January.