my ankles are killing me - running question

pobalita

I've been running for about a year now. I completed two half marathons and am now training for a marathon. I have had no problems with my joints or any pain until recently.

I ran 18 miles 10 days ago with no problems and was able to do another 7 mile run 2 days later with no problems. Then, due to bad weather, I was unable to run for most of last week. Yesterday when I finally could go for a run, the inside of both of my ankles hurt very badly. The pain is mostly behind the ball on the inside of my ankles and radiates about six inches up. I was able to run through it yesterday and by mile 3 of my 6 mile run it didn't hurt much. The pain returned after the run and it hurts when I walk today. There is also some pain on the inside of my heel next to the ball of the ankle (no pain on the bottom of my heel).

Does anyone else have this problem? Is this something serious that I should have looked at by a doctor, or part of the normal aches and pains of running? I've been running close to 40 miles per week for about a month or so and haven't upped the weekly mileage much with the long runs. My shoes are pretty new and broken in. I bought two pairs of Sauconys (stability) in January and rotate them. I have about 100 miles on each pair. I overpronate some.

Any advice on what could be wrong or what to do about it? Would an insole help? I live near several good running stores, so if that's the answer, I could get advice on which is the best.

bumblebums

You probably have stress fractures. Get some rest and work on strengthening your calves. Calf circumference has been shown to correlate negatively with lower leg injuries--the stronger your calves, the more impact they absorb and the less stress is on your bones, tendons, and ligaments.

Sqeekyjojo

Get it checked out properly. You don't want to do serious damage through ignoring warning signals.