Are Running Injuries Really Inevitable? (Read 217 times)

Different training styles work for different people, but Run Less Run Faster tends to sacrifice aerobic development in favour of pure VO2Max training and it really doesn't make any sense for longer distance running.

 

The number of 'hard' workouts involved actually tends to increase injury risk (given also the proportion of weekly mileage that the long run constitutes).  It might work if you're training up to say a 5k distance, but anything beyond that requires a lot more easy running to develop the aerobic system.

This.

And the Run Less Run Faster method will ultimately lead to staleness and a halt or regression in performance because of the higher % of harder running (digging) which is a less efficient way to run. It works for a 3 - 6 month training plan but if you keep at for 12 months I would bet on ahalt in progress and increased injury risk.  Smart training and building your base requires multiple months/years. Smart training means continued banking of miles and  progress for years to come and less risk of injury and a bit more fun during the running journey.

It’s my hope that by continuing to follow my program, I can stay injury-free and that they’re not inevitable.  Maybe I’m not being realistic, however…

When asked by friends and coworkers about running, I say two things; run no more than 30 minutes a day and don't ever run a marathon...

In my opinion, there is nothing that can taken away from someone being injury free except that they have been injury free. Our bodies are what they are, so I cannot say that because one person did A, B & C they are injury free, because another person could do the exact same thing and never get off the bench. My running history is riddled with injury, but I had issues with shoes, muscles imbalances and a lifetime of inflexibility. Those things did not affect me in other sports, but were detrimental in this one.

A little luck goes a long way, but keeping the duration and frequency of your running from reaching the inane levels in the sport goes even further. If however, one chooses to reach the higher ends of mileage, I am not convinced that that anything is inevitable. As there are people who can run 300 miles in a month without issue, and others who cannot run 100 miles a month without all of the issues. In that regard, the oft-repeated phrase, your mileage may vary, is 100% spot on.

Late to this party and skipped a bit. Started running in 2000. Wasn't really running much to support the marathons I was running on the weekends and developed a nice stress fracture in my femur in mid 2004. When I came back from that, I committed to high mileage. Ran 4000-5000 miles a year from 2005 until 2016.

Had some success. 300+ marathons, 100+ ultras, 1 1/2 wins (the half is because I was first boy at a 50k, but first overall was a gal who was so far in front of me that I didn't see her after 3 miles and she was packed up and gone when I finished).

In 2012, was diagnosed with something uncool. Also had a stroke. But I kept on running.

In mid-2016, started feeling something weird in my left hamstring. In February 2017, managed an acute injury in my left heel. I have never been the same since. I think I got 2000 miles in 2017, maybe 1500 in 2018, will struggle to hit 1200 this year. Many months of zero. Trying to resolve it. 

My point is that it doesn't happen until it happens and when it happens, it can really nail you. And that's even while doing things "right" and having a pretty good history of remaining injury free (12+ years for me). I am going on 3 years dealing with the same set of injuries now.

I started in 2015...got PF from doing too much too soon wearing the same style shoe all the time.  Started wearing 0 to 5 mm drop shoes, fixed the PF.  I rotate among various shoes now.  I've done a couple of marathons, several 50ks working towards a 50 miler, 100k next year then a 100 miler.  I was in a car accident in 2017 and messed up my back and that's been all of my injuries.  Right now I'm coming back from the back injury and doing roughly 30 mpw training for my Oct 50k.

I hurt my foot weed eating on a steep hill and can’t run right now.

I can only remember one injury that was caused while running and that was a sprained ankle stepping off a curb.

M58

My anecdotal story, long and boring, so don't read it without first getting a snack and some booze:

Started running at 12 for Jr high XC. Ran a bunch during seasons and over the summers my last two years in HS (a "bunch" was probably 35-50 miles a week, mostly 35). Mostly dirt roads and our dirt track. Went to State 3x each in XC and Track, 7 time district champ (2 xc, 5 track events) Never an injury except maybe tripping and scraping a knee. Went to college in the Big City of Eugene, ran a lot more, and on pavement, got a stress fracture (coach's guess, he's no sports doc) on the top of my rt foot after a couple months. healed up in a few weeks and never came back, despite higher mileage and intensity on same routes. That was my one and only running injury pre Masters.

Fast Forward about 30 years:

Started running "seriously" again around 47-48 y/o.

Injury 1: Torn Gluteus Medius. After 6-9 months of "being back" I met with some post collegiate for track work once a week in Berkeley. after a month of this felt a "pop" in my Lf hip with 200 to go doing a Mile tempo, felt like getting punched real hard. Stupidly decide to limp in and barely break 5:00. Pain for a couple weeks, attempts to run make it worse, lose about 2-3 months of running. I thought it might be bursitis, went to a Sports doc and paid out of pocket because it wasn't covered, ultrasound showed good bursa but a lot of scar tissue. Was given a photocopy of a few exercises to do.

Injury 2: Lf Soleus. About a year after recovering from Gluteus Medius, but still with a huge visible lump there, Soleus gets damaged. I can't recall the cause and effect, but probably a speed workout. 2 Summer months of running lost. Did a lot of mountain biking while  enviously looking at trail runners that Summer.

Injury 3: Rt Achilles. 5-6 months after recovering from Soleus, on an EZ 5 miler my achilles hurts a bit after the first mile. Never having an achilles issue, I think I can "run through it" until I warm up and the pain goes away. I get another mile and am limping, and walk back. Take only a day or two off and go running again, same result, only instantly. A week of R.E.S.T and it's no better, and there's a lump. 6 MONTHS lost from running, and 8 years later it still pops up every once in a while, causing 1-6 weeks of loss of running. This injury above all others led to mental distress, I had never been sidelined for so long with no end in sight, as I limped around every day just going about my business. I thought it might be permanent. It kind of is!

Injury #4: Rt Plantar. Things were going well for about 6 months after returning to running from the lost 6 months, which included 2 months of limping while just walking. Then my rt heel started to hurt, a lot. It wasn't a gradual increase, it was 2 days from "this feels sore" to not being able to put weight on it getting out of bed in the morning. 4-6 weeks running lost, limping while walking. It was 5-6 months for it to disappear completely, it was a gradual process. I decided to get "orthopedic" shoes so I could continue to run a bit, Hoka Stinson with Dean Karnazes support insoles. That worked if I went slow, but at least I could get in 3-4 dirt miles at a time. I discovered a cheap solution that provided instant relief for walking, and significant relief while running, Strutz elastic arch support. PF has not recurred in a debilitating way, but I have felt a twinge a few times over the years.

Injury 5: Lf Achilles. In late November '19 I get a familiar pain in my other Achilles, I know better now and rest it for several days. Doesn't get a lot better, so I take almost all of December off to avoid a repeat of my very long Rt achilles injury.  Ease back into things January. Has been nagging ever since, and sometimes a loss of a week, and sometimes 50 mile weeks and no pain. Currently pain after 3-4 miles, so I'm taking a week off and rehabbing. Have NO IDEA what caused the original event in November, but recent reaggravation was from 2 fast miles in a row to keep some 20-something from catching up to me on a run.

My observation on MY injuries: Speed kills. All occurred after an increase in intensity. Even though I had a decent "base", track work of sub :30 200's or sub :70 400's weakened things and then I broke them by not letting them get stronger before doing harder (or any) efforts again. Not just speedster stuff, but sustained moderate pace (for me), like anything longer than a mile at 6:00-6:30 pace. 12:00 3k tempo had me hobbling for several days last Fall. Training for a Masters exhibition 3k at the Oregon Twilight in 2018 I over-did it even though I was careful, and stupidly did a 1 mile at goal pace (5:45-50) the week before and woke up my achilles, hoped resting for 5 days would fix it, but no, started but had to DNF after 3 laps. Limped just walking for a month. I can go all day slower than 8:30-9:00 miles without reaggravating my Rt achilles or anything else, 7:00-7:30 pace for 10k+ is iffy. I did a 12hr trail race last Summer and covered about 60 miles and didn't have a peep from anything, just a bit of muscle soreness that lasted a couple days. Quantity may also factor in, but I can't be sure. My Lf achilles was perfectly fine a month ago, but when I hurt it "racing" someone on a run, that was after a couple 50 mile/6 day weeks in a row, which ashamedly are long weeks for me right now (usually 30-40, 5-6 days). But, on the CV-19 inspired "secret route" I've been running to avoid walkers/runners/cyclists there are rolling hills, and my pace does get down to and under 6:00 on the downhills sometimes. The intensity isn't there, because it's downhill, but still.

This "speed kills" revelation for me really sucks, because I'm a middle distance guy, I suck at anything longer than 5-10 minutes. I'm a mesomorph; take Nick Symmonds body and put my head on it. So, I can't adequately train for events that I'm genetically predisposed to be competitive in.

In conclusion, I hope these tales of woe have given someone insight into their own injury reality. My own experiences confirm that injuries follow an increase in intensity, and perhaps quantity. I also hope that you are adequately buzzed from the 2-3 drinks it took to get through this whole post.