Rubber track vs. street

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Question:

So I had been running on my city’s streets, sidewalks, etc. ~3 miles at a time. I switched to a rubberized track just for kicks. Found that I could really only do 1-1.5 miles, sometimes 2. The insides of my shins hurt really bad after a short while on the track. Tonight I moved back to running on streets. Did 2.6 miles, no pain at all. I seem to be able to run better, longer, whatever when I’m doing it on the street. On the track it certainly feels like I have more spring, and it seems like I’m going faster, but I get winded faster and my legs HURT. I thought rubber tracks would be easier to run on.

Response:

I thought rubber tracks would be easier to run on.

Obviously not.

Response:

Here’s my advice: don’t run on the rubber track anymore. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – So I had been running on my city’s streets, sidewalks, etc. ~3 miles at a time. I switched to a rubberized track just for kicks. Found that I could really only do 1-1.5 miles, sometimes 2. The insides of my shins hurt really bad after a short while on the track. Tonight I moved back to running on streets. Did 2.6 miles, no pain at all. I seem to be able to run better, longer, whatever when I’m doing it on the street. On the track it certainly feels like I have more spring, and it seems like I’m going faster, but I get winded faster and my legs HURT. I thought rubber tracks would be easier to run on.

Response:

It still will take some adjusting to get used to this. I’ve gotten a similar effect on my shins when wearing Saucony shoes for a long run. They add more spring to the step too. There is one other factor, the turns. They are sharper and much more frequent that just about any turns you might do on a street run. These observations won’t make it easier to run that track any sooner, but they might help you understand what’s happening. One final suggestion: if/when you return to the track, try using it as a different kind of training run than what you would do on a street run. Not necessarily speedwork, but simple things like running the straights and walking the curves. At least until the track causes you no pain. Enjoy the run! Ed.

Response:

Firstly, you probably were running faster. The environment of the track creates a psychological pressure to perform. Why is that? It could be because of the association between the track and elite, hard-core, competitive sport. It could be that when you see that brick-colored oval and those white stripes, you can’t help but get psyched up. Secondly, your body mechanics vary with surface. It takes time to adjust to a new surface. The way your foot goes through the strike, and the way the muscles react is different. Because the surface is softer, your form might be more sloppy: you might be overstriding more and hitting with a heavier heel strike, feeling confident that the rubber will absorb the extra shock. However, you put an extra load on the muscles in your shin by doing that. Try to stick to the form that you have when you are running on pavement. Imagine that the rubber is really stone and run like that. Lastly, when you use well-cushioned trainers on a rubber track, the two materials don’t work very well together at all. The combination is very energy sapping. That could also help explain why you feel winded. I don’t do track running in trainers anymore, but use middle distance spikes exclusively. I’m not saying everyone should do that, but you might want to try *somewhat* harder shoes, like performance trainers.

Response:

Good comments have been made already — if you can only do 1.5 miles before you need to stop, you are going way too fast. Slow down, then you won’t get winded as fast. Cheers, — Donovan Rebbechi http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

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