General Approach
In the normal course of business I do 1 or 2 short (20-40min) running activities per week (usually in the morning) to maintain basic endurance year around. Running is just so easy to integrate, everywhere, anytime and in any weather condition…
I am big fan of runs that include the running ABC, a coordination ladder or some sprints on the track - and yes: it feels awkward to juggle 90kg of bodyweight around a coordination ladder or do high knees in the Englische Garten breathing like a steam engine but it significantly helps to increase running efficiency and light footed feeling. So I guess I don’t care about some looks…
If I strive to get a bit more competitive I would build up via some speedwork in form of intervals and uphill runs towards some tempo runs up until a week before competition.
Unfortunately my running abilities are somewhat limited in the last years, so my focus is more on recovery than performance optimization.
My current trial to get back to sustainable running (As of February 2024)
Starting situation:
I suffered more and more often from ankle pain after running. In the beginning I thought it’s just related to limited workout readiness and high body weight but at some point the pain was permanent and high enough even without running to visit a doctor. The diagnosis was a so-called Haglund heel which often comes in the 40ies and usually needs surgery to get symptom free. However, my doctor was able to reduce the pain and inflammation with wave therapy and I added stability work and ankle specific stretches. Today I am pain free for up to app. 10.000 steps a day - running still doesn’t work well.
Now, I want to give it one more try to set up my program in a way that allows a basic running routine with the target of participating in city runs (with no time ambition just for fun).
Trial setup as of February 2024:
Warm up with ankle specific stability work out and a hip and ankle focused yoga routine. Appr. 20-30min
Run maximum to the pain point of the ankle. This is currently 2km.
Wait at least 4 days or until no pain is noticable.
Keep the distance for 4 weeks and then increase by 0,5-1 km. Repeat.
Hypothesis: The warm up before running and the stability training should help to protect. I would hope that the short distance gives just enough impulse to strengthen the running specific muscles, joints and fascia around the ankles without harming them. Four days should be enough time for them to recover or indicate me otherwise to wait a bit more. Let’s see.
Update as of July 2024:
Participated in the B2RUN on 5,5km - pain free
Pain free training run of up to 10k
If you have a successful method for this type of problem I would be happy for a note.
Speedwork
If I come back to a more performance oriented training I will add some experiences here. Maybe from the perspective of a fairly heavy bestager ;-) Promise :-)
Running ABC and coordination ladder work
I think running efficiency is heavily overlooked by hobby runners. My experience was that only a few running ABCs helped me a lot to develop a more lightfooded running style which made me faster and also helped with endurance in the longer runs.
I would say especially for the heavier runners like myself this is a low effort game changer.
Examples: