Injury couch advice

[womblejogger]

Currently sporting an ankle injury from god knows where so running of any sort is sore not painfully.

Have been training the last few weeks for Cardiff half at the start of October

If I rest the ankle which is the best course of action I won't be running or training for the next two weeks because of the i.c. and a planned holiday

I did a half in June so I have a good base level fitness (sort of lol)

What I'm asking is after resting the ankle do I restart my training schedule where I left off with it or do I skip the two missed weeks and carry on from there ...

Thanks peeps

The womble jogger

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon]

I lost 10 days through Covid 19 recently. I had reached 10 miles before the bug struck. I came back with two short runs and then a tentative (very slow) 13k in the first week back, 2x short runs and 10 miles the next week, then 2x really short taper tuns followed by my HM. So I didn’t really lose much fitness in the 10 day lay off. We are all different though. Mine was a “suck it and see” approach really; at 71 years old I am not out to beat any speed records…..if the 13k hadn’t felt right I would have slipped back a couple of weeks.

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

You are unlikely to lose much fitness in two weeks, so it's a case of juggling what time you have left. It's hard to answer though, not knowing where you are up to distance wise, and what the remaining weeks of the plan look like .You need to factor in bringing the ankle back carefully to make sure it doesn't need flare up again.

I would suggest a couple of short, easy runs to test the ankle, then reevaluate.

Also remember, you don't necessarily need to run the full 21km before the event - some plans only take you to about 16k or 10 miles anyway.

Speedy healing 😊

[womblejogger Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

I'm up to a comfortable 9 miles and can Jeff the rest with 8 weeks left after a 3 week enforced break I should be where I want to be , was hoping to improve on previous times but I think joint health is more important and being able to run the half distance in October over a pb any day

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to womblejogger]

It sounds like you're well placed to take two weeks off - longer if you aren't confident in your ankle when you restart. As you say, finishing (and enjoying) is the key. A PB would simply be extra icing on the cake - never say never 😊

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon]

I think you’ll be just fine WJ. You have plenty of miles in your legs, so I don’t think the distance itself will be a problem. How your ankle feels on the day will dictate whether you need to take it slower and/or Jeff.

I did the GSR last year coming off a Covid-like bug and, of course, last summer’s heatwave. My training had been almost non-existent and I managed to run the 10 miles. It was my slowest GSR ever, but I wanted to complete it and I did. I’m doing the Cardiff Half too, and I have to admit my training has faltered due to time constraints this past couple of weeks. I’ll get there though.

Good luck. Most of all, look after that ankle. 😀

[womblejogger Half Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

thanks and good luck with cardiff too

[womblejogger Half Marathon]

i had my gait analysed in 2019 and i am a neutral shoe and the shoes are only a few months old so are fairly new, according to the metric provided by my garmin chest strap (last time it was used) i do tend to favour one leg more than the other but it is a tiny amount its probably my running style, landing awkwardly or even more probable my weight that's affected it, but it is giving me food for thought as to using my chest strap more in light of this injury ... will keep an eye on it , could do with going back to doing some strength training did that over the winter and it helped but stopped as gym membership ran out that's worth thinking about as i did concentrate on a lot of lower body and core strength there (too look at me you wouldn't think so lol)

[YouJustGotChicked in reply to womblejogger]

The best thing you can do is one legged exercises. That’ll strengthen those mini ligaments that get stretched and weakened. Good luck 😉

[womblejogger Half Marathon in reply to YouJustGotChicked]

Thanks will remember that 🤟😃🤟

[nowster Metric Marathon in reply to womblejogger]

Put a thick cushion or pillow on the floor. Step on it with one bare foot, and try to balance on that leg for 30 seconds or so. Repeat with the other foot/leg.

It may help to have something to grab on to fairly close by.