Cankles

I began running in August. I have run 30-50 minutes 3-5 times a week consistently. I love how it has toned my thighs, hips, given me a flat tummy, and toned arms but....  i think i am starting to form cankles. I asked my boyfriend who was away for 4 months at medical school and i now live with in the caribbean while he attends medical school if they looked bigger and when i turn to the side he says, yeah, they look a bit bigger and like they may be forming cankles.

Is there a way to prevent this or should i switch from running to elipticals or power walking for an hour?

Original Post by melkor:

 Your boyfriend needs to see an optician immediately, there's something seriously wrong with his eyes.

 You might want to crosstrain a bit for injury prevention purposes, but I see no particular reason to stop running if you like what you're doing. Are you training for a particular event, like a 5K or Race for the Cure?

I am not training for anything in particular. I started running originally because my boyfriend went away to medical school and I wanted to look like "BAM" when he came back plus I knew I was moving down here with him and would be in a bikini a lot. Now i run because i love that huge sense of accomplishment afterwards and its good for overall health. What is crosstraining?

Maybe my ankles do swell after a workout. The comment was made after I had just worked out and it freaked me out. But my ankles do appear more red after a work out as well.

Also,

I do not think my BMI is dangerously low at all. I think people have a sckewed idea of what the BMI means. I am in great shape and optimal health. If my body was unhealthy i wouldnt be able to participate in the activities that I do.

I think everyone mentioned a lot of good reasons as to why they may appear like that, but since then my bf has actually restated his remark to

"I think you could be possibly going down a road that leads to cankles due to running..."

 Crosstraining is doing something other than running for 1-2 workouts a week; it's mainly to balance out the movement patterns you use while running to prevent overuse injuries and fix any potential muscle imbalances.

 If you're a competitive runner your major workout mode is still going to be running, exercise specificity rules, but some light recovery work on the elliptical or bike plus some sports-specific strength training will help you stay injury-free over the long term.

 Going swimming, surfing or skateboarding would also fit the bill nicely ;)

Thanks Melkor, you are always a big help!

hm... i'm 5'6'', 134lbs and my calves are 15 inch (circumference)!!! that's pretty huge, and they are not defined, they are just bulky and yeah i have cankles! my legs are like alicia keys... is there any chance to make them a little bit slimmer??? other parts of my body are slim... (pear shaped) :-( should i lose some weight??? is there somebody with similar problem because all my friends have normal calves...even the one who weight more than me....