Ankle injury at W3R3

[ep264]

Hello, this is my first post here.

I recently (finally!) got going with the Couch to 5k plan having been thinking about it for ages, and have enjoyed it so much. I had completed week 3 and had suffered from a little bit of pain in my knees on and off (which Dr Google tells me was probably 'runner's knee'!) but nothing that stopped me running.

Then after that last run of week 3 I started to get quite bad pain in my ankle. I noticed it a bit during the run but much more so when I stopped, bad enough that it kept me awake at night. In the morning my ankle was very swollen and remained so for the following 10 days or so - bad enough walking on it wasn't great and stairs were very tricky. I didn't get it looked at as we were on holiday. It's now much better - still slightly swollen but much less so, and much less painful. I'm planning to wait until it's completely pain free before starting again, but I have two questions.

1) is there is likely reason for this having happened? I have good trainers and stuck exactly to the plan.

2) how do I get back into it? Do I need to start back at week 1?

I'm pretty gutted it happened because I was enjoying it so much and really pleased with myself for getting going again with exercise after having children. I'm still feeling very motivated but need some help with how to get going again.

I'm 36, not at all overweight but very tall (6'1") and have been running exclusively on roads because it's been so muddy.

Many thanks!

[pinkaardvark Graduate]

Firstly I'd say see a doctor, no one on here can or should diagnose your ails.

I wouldn't use google to self diagnose either.

You say you have good shoes? define good? good for what?

Knee weakness can often be down to weakness in the quads and transfer of motion downwards as that musculature is not strong enough. Ankle issue may be because of over rotation and again weakness of surrounding musculature.

Without knowing anything else I'd hazard a guess at you running too fast for your physical ability level, having a stride that is too long for your muscle level or some other as yet undiagnosed imbalance in your anatomy.

[ep264 in reply to pinkaardvark]

Thank you, that's helpful. I wasn't expecting anyone to diagnose the problem - it was more just a description to give some background. I will certainly try the idea of taking smaller steps as I feel that may well be an issue for me. Thanks for your help.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

You say you have good shoes, but were they fitted after a gait analysis done at a specialist running shop? If not they may be inappropriate for your running style.

Tall runners often overstride. Slow down, keep footfall under your body, not out in front, avoid heelstriking and consider running on grass. Long limbs create greater leverage forces, on all your joints, so all of the above may help.

Only you will know where to start back and it depends how long your layoff is, as mentioned in the guide to the plan healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

Take care.

[ep264 in reply to IannodaTruffe]

Thanks, this is really helpful. I did have my shoes fitted at a sports shop, but not one where they did a full gait analysis so perhaps I need to look at that. I certainly plan to start running more on grass now the ground is drying out. I certainly think that overstriding might be an issue for me now you've both mentioned it. Many thanks for your advice.