My road to 42.195 -- Part 3. Growing pain

After the first few months' happy time. The problem came, right after I extending milage and speeding up my pace. I developed Runer's knee in my left knee. It was getting worse, the pain hauted even after a short run like 5km. I kept on running through it and iced after run, it did not getting any better. And in mid of July, right after Race Against Cancer, I hit the wall at 24km and my legs gave up. I thought I could not extend the milage anymore,but there was still enough time for the coming Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon and year end Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore (SCMS). I decided to taper off and cure the injury before it becoming chonicle disease.

Again, I searched internet and library, for the running injury. I visited Dr. Pribut's website and followed the instruction to cut off the hill session and add side stretch to my warm up and post run cool down. And did follow R I C E (rest, ice, compression, elevation) rule. It did make me better but I was doubting about my running technique, especially feet striking pattern.  A lot of people were talking about natural running form against heel striking with modern cusioned shoes. People attribute the knee injury to the heel striking. And fore foot or mid foot striking were capable of knee injury prevention. I got a lot information from a book called Run For Life. It was comprehensive enough of cinvincing me to switch to fore/mid foot striking. Had not been even going through Born To Run, I put myself into barefoot run. Especially when I happened read one of my colleague's (Barefoot Pua) blog, barefoot runner's running story. I did my first barefoot run a few weeks after my tapering for knee injury. It was nothing but a little bit strain in calves, like many bare footer's experience, more easier than imagination. The following weeks I trained with barefoot at least two times per-week. But I only tried one LSD with bare boot, the east side run with SG runners forummers. My soles ended up with blisters owing to hilly terrain and bad road condition.

I kept on barefoot training and tried to landed with fore or middle foot. It did cure my knee pain and soon, before Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon.  I was totally free of knee injury. To reducing sole hurts, I also tryied old fashioned running shoes I bought from China. I worth only RMB20 (S$4) a pair. They weighted <400g and equivalent to mid-weighted training shoes. The sole is flexible and the sense of ground touching is great! I even raced with them in Army Half Marathon after tried run with 2 LSDs >20km. Later I even boasted to my wife that I needed not bought Vibram Five Fingers and saved 200 bulks and my running hobbie was costless. I was very happy to be freed from knee injury and indulged myself to this barefoot and minimalist running life. I even did one short distance race (Nicorettquitters Run, 7.5km) with barefoot and ranked 3rd.

I was too optimistic about the barefoot run. So that my race schedule is full in Sept and Oct. I took 3 races in Sept and 2 races in Oct. Ranged from 7.5km to 30km, two of them were in same weekend! And during that period I was still inceasing milage for year end Marathon. Finanlly my right leg injured. I though it began after high intensity run in Sept. I finished half marathon on Sept. 12. And then run into 7.5k race on Sept 18, 8.5k race on Sept 19. I was rewarded right calf strain beside a broze trophy. It got worse after Newton 30k run, the following week LSD I developed ankle pain after 9km mark. I'v run through it and took it to next week's Nike 10k. Latter it got even worse and I try to sustained another 2 weeks, before my tapering week. I could do no tapering because I was totally disable to run. I even limped to work. I did checked Dr. Pribut's web and found my problem to be MTSS (medial tibial stress syndrome).

Actually barefoot is not panacea. When I sit down and look back my running history, I find it outcame from my running progress. First, In the first 10 weeks, my weekly milage increased by 170%, from 16.8km to 45.5km, 17% increase per week (much higher than recommended <10%). That stressed my left leg runner's knee. Second, I boosted my tempo pace from 7.1min/km to 4.8min/km (by 48%) in first three months. Following three month training totally with barefoot + thin sole running shoes with peak speed as high as ~4min/km, and continous extended LSD distance as long as 38km. My weakest point, right heel, ankle and calf, gave up at last. Some expert said injury was cause by muscle imbalance. That is true. There is always weak point in one's body, it could be hiding behind when he run leisurely, without stress. They will come out as distance and speed increases, and stress accumulates.

Some one blame the injury to the muscle imbalance. I should blame my ambition. I injured because my physical and mind imbalance. I need take it slow and build up my fitness before I engaging to a longer or faster endurance run. If I could not control myself, I' could injure myself again and again, and end up with giving up running at last.

3 days before SCMS, my MTSS is almost recoverd after ~1month rest. It should be a new start to know my limit and let me set another goal and plan for next year Sundown Marathon.