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is running on asphalt bad for you?
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 2007-01-29 2:45 PM |
Regular 81  West Hartford, CT |  Subject: is running on asphalt bad for you?I am running 3-4 times a week on the streets. I do not live close to dirt roads nor, as a young woman do I feel comfortable running in the woods alone in the dark. Will I increase my chance of injury if I continue to run 3-4 times a week on the asphalt? I do live next to a high school track and do have access to treadmills (how boring). Do I need to force myself to get off the pavement? I was not having any pains until the temps dipped below freezing and now everything is frozen solid. Since the freeze, I have had some ankle and knee pain when I run. It’s more discomfort than pain but I just feel it with every strike towards the end of my runs. I am following the 10% rule and I am not speed training – actually I am running pretty slow. I was of the mind set that it just gets some toughing up – so stick it with. I wear a pair of Nimbus Asics and have been taped running and was told I was an “efficient runner”. So I bought the best shoe I could – the research on this topic does not appear to be very clear. I would like the opinion of those of you that have been running for a while….What do you do? Thanks  |
| 2007-01-29 2:59 PM in reply to: #671741 |
Elite 2421  | Subject: RE: is running on asphalt bad for you? Asphault is not the best nor the worst of surfaces. I know many a runner who have spent most of their running careers on asphault without "major" injuries. See here for a comparison of concrete and asphault. bts |
| 2007-01-29 3:04 PM in reply to: #671775 |
Cycling Guru 15134 Fulton, MD | Subject: RE: is running on asphalt bad for you? Good form will overcome many of the problems of running surfaces. My suggestion would be to work on your running form as much as you would swimming form until you have it down. |
| 2007-01-29 3:14 PM in reply to: #671741 |
Pro 4206 Los Angeles, CA | Subject: RE: is running on asphalt bad for you? Depends. Asphalt is "softer" than concrete so it's better than running on the sidewalk. However, roads are not flat and dip to the left or right toward the gutter, thus can cause some problems because it's uneven. As you know already, there are softer surfaces like treadmill or trail or grass but if you don't have acecss to them, what can you do. When I first started running, I only ran on asphalt. I ended up getting shin splints. What happened was, as you cross train like riding your bike or even find a park to run on grass (it will strength your lower legs because of all the dips and holes, etc), you will get stronger. Now, I can run 6 days a week for an hour a day and have no problems. I think you should mix it up with the track. Maybe now 1 day on the asphalt, 2-3 days on the track or grass park. Then after a month or so, add in some more runs on the street. Or maybe shorts runs on the street but long runs on the track. |
| 2007-01-29 3:18 PM in reply to: #671741 |
Sneaky Slow 8694  Herndon, VA, | Subject: RE: is running on asphalt bad for you? Here's an article which seeks to "rank" the top 10 running surfaces, asphalt is #7, concrete is #9. What's #10, you ask? Well, snow, of course. I guess ice was not included. |
| 2007-01-29 6:35 PM in reply to: #671775 |
| , Texas | Subject: RE: is running on asphalt bad for you? The problem I have with most of these write-ups is that they don't take the shoe into consideration. If you run barefoot, then the "hammer against the surface" test might be of value. Odds are that if you are running barefoot, you aren't running on asphalt or concrete. Instead, cover the hammer with your shoe sole and try the test. I bet you can't tell the difference. I'd really like to see a scientific study on this, but have yet to find it. Where I live, it's pretty much all concrete; park "trails", neighborhood roads, etc. I figure that as long as the running is kept in check (mostly 20-ish mpw), other factors (shoes, stride, genetics?) are probably more important than the surface. After all, we are triathletes and don't have that much time for running, right? |
| 2007-01-29 6:43 PM in reply to: #671783 |
| Subject: RE: is running on asphalt bad for you? Daremo - 2007-01-29 1:04 PM Good form will overcome many of the problems of running surfaces. My suggestion would be to work on your running form as much as you would swimming form until you have it down. I think Daremo hit the nail on the head. I read just the first part of the article suggested by the second poster and IMHO if you are landing with 6 times your body weight with each step you are asking for some serious injuries. One of the things I do and probably more on the dreadmill is to concentrate on landing softly. |
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