Ankle issues (and occasional knee issues)

Well, I don't know enough to comment on the popping part, but I rolled my ankle a few months back pretty badly and have had to go to school on how to take care of it. My routine of ankle exercises is as follows:

Stand on one foot (trying to do 5 minutes) and balance, you'll feel the ankle and lower leg muscles adjusting to keep you in balance. I feel like the muscles get worked better if I have some bend in my leg. Once you've got this mastered, try it with your eyes closed.

I then use a resistance band tied around a leg of my desk, right by the floor. With my foot on the ground and my knee bent at 90 degrees, I use the band for resistance and rotate my feet inward and outward. Be careful to make sure that you're only moving your foot, using the ankle muscle, rather than rotating with your whole leg or from the knee. Repeat these exercises with a 45 degree knee bend, again with your foot flat on the floor.

Also, I would suggest a book on running technique, either ChiRunning or Evolution Running (actually I believe there's a book called Run Training for Triathletes that starts with a general overview of Evolution Running's techniques). Both books will teach you ways to run that are generally easier on the body, which is vital for those of us who aren't 145 pounds and 4% bodyfat.

Now the hardest part - you're probably running too much too soon. Check out the couch-to-5K plan on this site and you'll see it's a multiple month program. If you ramp your running mileage too quickly, all sorts of stuff like this is likely to develop. Try to start out with more walking and less running, and also do some biking and swimming while you lose some of the weight. I once heard that every pound of body weight means 10 pounds of force on your joints when you're running. While I'm not sure the number is exactly correct, I'm sure the general idea is - running will be a lot less punishing on your joints as you shed the pounds.

Good luck.
-Matt

Man, thanks for a great reply. I will definitely try the ankle-strengthening exercises.

As to the too-much-too-fast I know that is probably right, but it's sort of a bummer. I feel great when I finish three miles, it's more like my ankle and knee just aren't keeping up with the rest of me, but I guess that's the whole point. The couch to ____ programs seem really, really slow at first, even for someone w/ a big gut, but I'm realizing there's a method to the madness. I will cut back on the run times, for now (this is why I gave myself 11 months to go couch-to-OD tri). Maybe continue getting up early but focus on core strength exercises after a short run/bike? I haven't been doing any strength work at all.

Thanks again.

The training plans have a lot of walking included in them, and if you walk fast, you actually get an OK workout, with a LOT less pounding on the body. Even though you feel like you can do so much more, it's probably a good idea to ease into it slowly. As I've found out the hard way, your body doesn't seem to tell you that you're doing too much until it's too late. By this I mean it's not like you can just ramp your training up until you feel something hurt, then back off and it will be fine. Rather, you will get hit with plantar fasciitis and end up sleeping with a boot on your foot for 2 months.

Strength/core is definitely a good idea, as core really helps in all three segments and appropriate strength training helps prevent injuries. Also, swimming and biking are nice in that they're much lower impact and consequently easier on the body from an injury standpoint.

Good luck.

I like the ankle exercises.  I give them to my athletes all the time.  The popping is probably coming from a ligament or ligaments in the ankle that were "strecthed" out when you previously rolled it.  If the ligament isn't allowed to heal in a shorted state it is more likely to pop in the future.  The knee could be because of the ankle, but I don't know enough about it to say for sure.