Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Lame with a Sprain !

I've got another possible name for these ramblings: "Bad News Blog". Just when you think you've turned that corner, and it's all plain sailing, something else breaks.

I suspect my previous pair of shoes, in a last ditch effort to nobble me, are to blame. The "bruised" feeling I reported a week ago was probably the initial weakening of my ankle ligaments, and my Sunday run finished them off. I have a sprained ankle.

Unusually (according to bits I've read - and the Internet is never wrong for long :) ) this is on the inside of my ankle rather than the outside, so feels different to sprains I've had in the past. Probably only 2 or 3 I can remember - I'm not prone to them.

So, once again, the worst-startup-runner-in-the-world is waiting for another injury to heal. I hope this one is going to be quicker than my calf. It's being frequently iced and compressed at the moment and is definitely improving, but I'm not about to hit the streets whilst it feels damaged, especially as I have a fair amount of walking to do in London on Thursday.

Thomas asked if I have had my gait and feet assessed at a running shop. The answer is "yes" it was the first thing I did after deciding to run - right at the start of this blog. However, I think it is clear that there is Running Shop gait analysis and Podiatry's gait analysis. Running shops are going to be good for the 80% of runners, but I am clearly outside that group. I'm going to use those results as guidance and see what happens in my new stability Asics. If that all goes wrong (and there is no reason to be optimistic!) I may well follow Thomas' route onto a neutral cushioning shoe and perhaps (worst case) go back to my podiatrist for orthotics.

But that's all speculation. I'm still determined to keep at it - I'm too dumb and stubborn to know when to stop. And I *so* want to try a race.

Mr Stumble.

3 comments:

Phil said...

Andy .. I thought I already posted a comment .. must have been day dreaming again.

You hang in there. Your initial injury was caused, to some extent, when you started out way too fast. I appears that you've got that under control now. Sorry to hear about your ankle though. At least you've got the treatment process down flat.

I think you're right about a poditrest. You've got some interesting running mechanics. The trick will be to find a poditrest that really understands runners.

You will be racing someday

The Evernoter said...

Phil,

Thanks for the comment. My feet were a gift from my mom, so I shouldn't really complain about them. However, they've always been difficult to find footwear for, being long, very narrow and flat.

I've tried to stick with "best practice" on selecting running shoes, but as Thomas has aluded to, the theory and practice of running shoe mechanics are not necessarily the same for all people.

However, if my new Asics turn out to be wrong, I'll have a job convincing D (my wife and home finance director!) that buying yet another pair of shoes is an entirely reasonable thing to do.

Cheers,

Andy

Phil said...

Je comprends Andy ... Bon chance!