Developing Walk Endurance After Foot Injury

[jrose1982]

Last year I sprained my ankle pretty bad.  6 weeks later, I went on vacation - using a walking stick - and returned with pain in my "good" foot that turned out to be a stress fracture from overuse.

I went through some physical therapy before life took over and started kicking my ass in other areas too.  I continued to work my feet at home, though. I bought a balance board, learned some foot and ankle exercises, started doing yoga.  But I really want to go on long walks again.

Before I sprained my ankle, I was able to walk 3-4 miles in one session and did that 5-6 times per week.  My immediate goal is build up to walking 3 miles per session, in 4 sessions per week.  This will put me at the starting point for the Susan G. Koman training program.  After that, I'll just follow the program.  But getting from where I am now to walking those 3 miles is where I'm kind of blind.  I'm not sure how fast I should increase my distance.

I've read walking/running articles that say to increase length of workouts by no more than 10% per week. So I did my first walking workout by walking on a treadmill at an easy pace and stopped when my ankle started feeling funny - just over 1 mile.  Then I started walking at an indoor track.  I calculated 1 mile to be 7 or 8 laps, so I did 8 laps per session, 3 sessions that first week.  The second week I added 1 lap to each session.  I intended to keep adding 1 lap per session per week until I get to about 4 miles, then redistribute to 4 sessions and continue building at approximately 10% per week. 

The problem is that at this rate it's going to take me 12 more weeks to get up to 3 miles per session.  This is quite frustrating because it doesn't seem like what I'm doing is so strenuous.  I've also seen somewhere that suggests you should be able to work up from 1 mile to 3 in about two weeks.

I'm wondering if that 10% rule is intended for somebody that is a little more advanced than I am.  I mean, 10% of 1 miles is only 0.1 mile, you're increasing by such small increments it seems silly.  It makes sense once you get up around 5+ miles, then your workouts would increase by increments 0.5 mile or more.

Does anybody know how fast I can safely increase my distance at this stage?

[WendyB]

I think that's totally up to you. When I was injured and then got better. I increased as often as I felt good about it. I was back to 4 miles within 3 weeks. The key is to listen to your body and of course your foot as well. If it starts hurting you should quit.

But  in crease when you can

I think the 10% rule is for people just starting out. If you feel you can do more now than go for it.

[Raviv]

In your case, good shoes are probably even more important than they are for everyone else, which is saying a lot.  Have you tried going to a real running store and seeing if you can get some good advice from them?

Unfortunately, it probably is going to be a slower increase than for someone without an injury, and if you get frustrated and push it, you're going to end up sitting it out even longer.  I wish I had a good solution for that, because patience is not my strong point.

[WendyB]

I agree with @Raviv Good shoes are very important.

I got fitted and now I can find my shoes a lot cheaper on line. They had them on Woot for 32$ last week it was awesome!

[emili]

agree with everything already posted. And just one more thing- I like where you wrote you walked the track. I think for someone who has had an injury, the treadmill might be too aggressive since you can't naturally change and adjust your speed and step to account for little pains. And outside, you could step wrong or trip. I would encourage you to keep doing the track. You can't rush healing- the worst thing you can do is go too fast and sideline yourself for even longer. Best, E.

[jrose1982]

Yes, I got fitted at a running store.  I should have done that years ago, these shoes feel great!

I walk the track because there's snow & ice outside.  Despite the risks, I would walk outside if I wasn't so hopeless on icy trails.  I would just walk slower and use my trekking pole.  Plus, I only have time to walk in the evening when it's dark.  I'm longing for warmer, longer days, but I should be stronger by the time they come.

But I agree about the treadmill, I hate those things just for the reason that I can't naturally control my pace.  I only used it to figure out my starting point.  On a treadmill I was able to stop as soon as I felt discomfort.  

Thanks for your input.  I found some walking programs for beginners, and it looks like they have people increasing 33 - 50% each week in the beginning, then slowing down towards the end.

I think what I'll do is stick to my 12 week program and if I feel good at the end of a walk I can always add a lap early.  So I might speed things up a bit if things go well, but I won't push it.

[WendyB]

@jrose1982 sounds like you found your solution! Woot

[josephz2va]

If you need specific shoes like dress shoes or running shoes, you can also try Vionics. They have a wide range of shoes available.