Jim24315
Cool Runner |
 posted Sep-07-2007 06:17 PM
   
quote:
Originally posted by hollys4874:
Great racing! You are very fast in ANY age group - well done! About the soft grass field running, I worry that I will turn an ankle on an uneven spot when I run off the pavement. What type of grass fields do you run on?
Thanks Holly, I run in 2 city parks, both of which are used for playing soccer in addtion to the normal park stuff such as volleyball, walking, picnics, doing drugs, etc. The first one I discovered gives me a .4 mile loop just inside a paved path that surrounds it. It was there that I really learned to enjoy running on the stuff. I love the way it feels under my feet and even the swish, swish sound my feet make as I move through it. Later I found a larger one that is 1.38 miles for a full loop. On the weekends there might be 2 soccer games, vollleyball, badminton and a couple picnics going on, but they aren't in my way at all. I've read where coaches have recommended running on the grass, and have even had them tell me directly, but I didn't like the idea, and the few times I'd tried didn't go very well. I'll be the first to admit that it can be difficult finding a suitable place. They either have too many ruts, they're too small, the grass is short with gravel or stones underneath, etc. etc. However, finally finding a good spot was well worth the searching around. Usually if they can handle soccer the grass is going to be well maintained without a lot of crap underneath. I had to be pretty desparate to make finding a place into a high priority project. A couple years ago--maybe a little less, I was getting sore around the hips, sore in the groin, had a little sciatic aggravation, and a mild case of PF. Except for a couple short periods none of them stopped me cold, but they were aggravating and made it hard for me to train like I wanted to. Then I picked up some article that made an anology between a golf ball bouncing off the pavement and the shock wave that goes up your legs when your feet strike the pavement. It made me reach down and grab my hip and the back of my leg--I could almost feel it happening as I was reading--"ouch!". Then it went on to say "now, try dropping that same golf ball into some nice, thick grass." The ball hardly bounces at all. That really got my attention. Within a short time I was in my car driving around the area to see if there was somewhere that was better than crappy grass I'd tried running on before (no grass jokes please, I grew up in the 60's and lived "the life" for longer than I should have). Now, more than a year later I'm a born again grass runner. Who knows, maybe it was just a matter of getting used to the training, but I believe that this discovery has been a major reason that I've been able to go so long without injury and put in the mileage I have. If I keep up at my current rate, this could be my highest mileage year ever during my 29 years of running. Are you more likely to sprain an ankle running on the grass than on pavement? Probably, although I've put in over 1000 miles on the stuff without it happening. If you are fortunate enough to get through the early stages without any problems I beleive that there is very definitely a strengthening affect. I've taken a few bad steps, but my ankles have gotten strong enough (knock on wood) so that they haven't buckled. I just catch myself and keep on going. Also, I think that it is a mild form of resistance training that makes you stronger aerobically. It makes you work a little harder without beating you up. When I go to race on the pavement after having trained all week on the grass, I definitely feel lighter on my feet. The pavement just feels so much faster--it is. Excuse me for going on so long. I get excited about this because it's been such an important discovery. It must be the way Rick feels when he talks about running barefoot. Okay...I'm done  [This message has been edited by Jim24315 (edited Sep-07-2007).]
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