Long term running on asphalt consequences?

If you are regularly running on sharp rolling anything your legs are not going to get a chance to recover. You need to run more than 50% of your runs on flatter terrain.

The 7aji wrote:

It's been over 3 months and my times haven't budged on the same mileage and got a bit slower on the easy runs. I'm really starting to think the coros watch isn't measuring distance, just the time because down to the second, my times haven't changed.

Take a week off.

Hounddogharrier wrote:

I’ve run on asphalt my whole life. Tomorrow at 10 am I get my hip replaced because of it. ?

More hip replacements amongst those who have never run

really now wrote:

.............. wrote:

The body will adapt to anything with proper progression. While variety is good for health, it isn't necessary.

Will the body adapt to increasing dosages of rat poison with “proper progression?”

Actually, yes.

I do not know about asphalt but it is expected for your improvment to slow down. Maybe take a week of and then start a real training block and you should improve a bit

dudez wrote:

If you are regularly running on sharp rolling anything your legs are not going to get a chance to recover. You need to run more than 50% of your runs on flatter terrain.

So will going back to the flats in a month fix this? I have a small niggle but no injuries from the terrain i've run in. I really miss my old routine and bopefully can go back to it soon.

Can you provide us with your scientific literature to back your claim?

Darby wrote:

really now wrote:

Will the body adapt to increasing dosages of rat poison with “proper progression?”

Actually, yes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithridates_VI_of_Pontus#Mithridates'_antidote

Hahahah the fact that someone refuted that with evidence is great

You're impact on the asphalt will pale in comparison to the impact of semi trucks driving on the surface. Don't worry about. Just hope your local municipality can affording fixing potholes.

7aji, I'm sure that all your hill work has made you a much stronger runner. It has trained your intermediate twitch fibers so that you will have better stamina in any race. A hard surface enables you to run faster, not slower. So if you race on a softer surface, expect slower times. Give your body a week to adjust to whatever surface you do a time trial on.

In any case, just find a flat course, measure it and time it, if you doubt your gps. And, it is quite common for runners to stagnate. One reason is that they psych themselves out. You can easily train yourself to run slower, if every run is a chore and frustrating. What keeps you from finding a flat course?

Also, you mentioned that your "easy runs" are slower. That could happen if you run hard on the day before. Any workout that jacks up your cortisol response can sabotage the release of glucagon, and so, your ability to burn fat is compromized on your long runs. Make sure you don't have a too intense workout on the day before your long run.

I'm in the south of france. I have run every nook and cranny within an 8 mile radius of where i live over the last 3 months and have not found more than a 150m stretch of land at a time that is flat. This is a far cry in comparison to manhattan and the arabian gulf where i used to live and run. I make sure to keep at least a day of running easy between hard runs that has always been the case. I'm comparing my easy run pace to the old easy run paces under the same conditions and spacing between workouts. Mondays off, tuesdays hill reps and bounds after an 8 mile easy run, wednesday short intervals, thursday, easy run, friday tempo, saturday easy, sunday long run.

Seems that all the talk here about "soft surfaces" has centered on grass, which I've never been a fan of because of hidden holes and rocks. Though they can be hard, relative to grass . . . I categorize dirt roads as softer than either asphalt or cement. You just need to be careful about potholes and rocks. Then there are the aesthetic benefits to running a lot of dirt roads, of way less traffic, wildlife encounters, and big sky vistas—particularly at sunrise or sunset. I've had my breath taken away by full moons that look huge as they rise on the horizon, a herd of deer in a farmer's field, or the cries of coyotes as the day passes. (I mostly avoid trails these days, having torn a meniscus in a fall when I was going too fast, when it was too dark, and I was too stubborn to recognize the risk.)

On a related note, a good PT friend of mine years ago said he'd rather see me running on a predictable, un-slanted asphalt surface, versus dirt . . . because of the risk associated with rocks and chuckholes, etc. (and to some degree, amplified biomechanical flaws) on dirt roads. I took that advice to heart, but continue to run the dirt roads. I think there is something positive to be said for all the little micro-adjustments and ancillary strengthening effects you get running on uneven surfaces Maybe it's a risk/reward thing I think.

With respect to the relative hardness of asphalt or cement roads . . . I remember reading something in Runner's World years back, about the relative hardness comparison between the two. They concluded that cement was something like 6 times harder . . . meaning that it returned something like 6 times the force you put into the surface back up into your body, versus if you were running on asphalt. I think they included a visual metaphor about dropping a golf ball on cement, and then dropping it on asphalt . . . where presumably it would bounce higher on the former surface.

Here's a brief, relevant Runner's World bit . . . where they claim concrete is 10 times harder than asphalt, while at the same time explaining how there are different 'hardnesses' of concrete/cement.

http://runner154.blogspot.com/2012/09/asphalt-vs-concrete.html

What is an ‘asphalt consequence?’

I have never heard of it, let alone run on it.

dirt roads are almost non extant for most the US population. Since I was a kid, the only ones I've seen are in national forests and they're oft not maintained in addition to being far away from everything. The soft surfaces debate centers on grass because almost everyone has golf courses, playing fields, and schools near them. I've always felt golf courses are an ideal place to train for any who don't live in a trail running mecca, if you can get on them. Barring that, doing a few laps around a soccer complex or the fields at a hs or college may be boring, but at least its a softer surface than the road. I wonder if there are any dirt runs within an hour of me, but google and asking if they're there have landed no results. I could drive out and check for them, but if I find nothing, there isn't anything to make the drive worth while.

Sorry but that's not true. The hip issue could not possibly be due to running on the roads. It could be from a biomechanical issue, or you might be 75 years old, or something else, but to blame a hip issue on the roads? I'm not buying it, although I wish you the best in your recovery and return to sport!

Hounddogharrier wrote:

I’ve run on asphalt my whole life. Tomorrow at 10 am I get my hip replaced because of it. ?

It's important to realize that your form automatically adapts to whatever surface you're running on, and how your form adapts varies from person to person. That means that it's more complicated than "harder surface = more injury". My guess is it's similar to shoes, where whichever feels better to you probably is better.

I've tried looking into this before and it seems that even though there's a lower force when running on grass than asphalt, e.g.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22897427/

, there's no clear evidence that it actually reduces injury rate.

word order matters wrote:

What is an ‘asphalt consequence?’

I have never heard of it, let alone run on it.

Thanks captain obvious lol

Also, i'm loving how my question about running on asphalt might have long term consequences on speed turned into a debate on soft vs hard surfaces ?‍♂️

The 7aji wrote:

I'm in the south of france. I have run every nook and cranny within an 8 mile radius of where i live over the last 3 months and have not found more than a 150m stretch of land at a time that is flat. This is a far cry in comparison to manhattan and the arabian gulf where i used to live and run. I make sure to keep at least a day of running easy between hard runs that has always been the case. I'm comparing my easy run pace to the old easy run paces under the same conditions and spacing between workouts.

Mondays off, tuesdays hill reps and bounds after an 8 mile easy run, wednesday short intervals, thursday, easy run, friday tempo, saturday easy, sunday long run.

Tuesday - hills and bounds

Weds - intervals

Friday - tempo

Easy runs all done in a hilly region.

Way too much intensity going on. I'd replace two of those workouts with easy runs.