injured again... (Read 563 times)

I have a long history of running injuries. Although I've been running for almost 20 years, I rarely ran more than 10 miles per week until 2.5 years ago, when I started training for my first marathon. I made it through training and the marathon with only minor ITBS issues. Since then it's been all down hill. I've had issues with Patellar Tendonitis, Chondromalacia, Achilles Tendonitis, Peroneal Tendonitis, ITBS, Tibialis Anterior Tendonitis, Plantar Fasciitis, and shin splints. I'm a mess. But then I suffered a tibial stress fracture this past March, and I started seeing a podiatrist who is a former 100 mpw marathoner. He has dismissed my duck-footedness and overpronating or any other biomechanical defects as causes of my injuries and believes they are strictly overuse injuries. He was confident that he could get me back into marathon training and avoid future injuries. So per his training schedule I started running 1 mile at a time in May and gradually worked up to a 20-mile week by late August. Under his advice I've made the following changes: 1) I only run 3 or 4 times per week to allow recovery between runs; 2) my orthotics have been tweaked to give more heel lift; 3) I run 1-2 minutes per mile slower than I feel like I could; 4) I avoid hills; 5) I run on softer surfaces as much as possible; 6) I stretch 10-15 minutes at least twice daily; 7) I perform strengthening exercises for my quads and lower legs; and 8) I take no anti-inflammatories so I'm not masking any pain while running. Look at my running log, I'm not running a lot of miles, and my pace is rather slow. And yet here I am injured again. As recently as three weeks ago, things were going rather well. My worst problem was that on longer runs my knees would start to hurt a little, but not enough to stop running. Then I had a particularly bad 12-miler, where my left knee hurt considerably in the last mile, and my right peroneal tendon showed some discomfort throughout the run. Then a few days later I developed pain in my right shin and calf. The pain would only be present after a run, not during it. I've been icing like crazy but it hasn't improved. And even after 4 days of rest, I had a horrible run last night. My left knee started hurting really bad 2 miles in, even with a cho-pat knee brace, and my right shin was a little painful (the first time it's hurt DURING a run). After the run, I felt really miserable. Both knees were throbbing, as well as the right shin and the right peroneal tendon. I iced all evening, and as of this morning I feel better except for the left knee. So I'm going to cut my mileage in half for the next few weeks, and replace it with cross training. If that doesn't work, I'll stop running entirely for a few weeks. It just really bugs me that I've been following the doctors advice very closely, running ultra conservatively, and yet here I am dealing with injuries AGAIN. 2.5 years ago when I didn't know any better, I just ran 30-40 mpw without any consideration of my health, and I had no problem getting through training. And I've been searching for the magic cure to my problems without success. In addition to my podiatrist, I've consulted with an orthopedist, a sports trainer and the fit experts at Road Runner Sports. No one has the answer for me. One theory that I've recently come up with is the fact that I no longer strength train my legs. Back when I was running only one day a week, I strength trained in the gym 3X per week, including some heavy leg exercises. Perhaps when I trained and ran my first marathon, I still had strong legs which prevented injuries. But now that it's been 2.5 years I think my legs are weaker despite running regularly. But the couple of times that I've tried to get back into the gym to do some strength training on my legs I've wound up with sore stiff muscles which just made things worse. I'm consulting a physical therapist next week to see if I can improve the strength in my legs without bothering my injuries. Hopefully that works. Anyway, thanks for listening to my bitching.

I sympthize with you....I have been injury prone over a 20+ career of running too..... Try cutting back to about 1/2...as you stated...and then adding ONLY 1 mile ever other week (to your weekly runs) ---- give your body more time to get used to the distance.......It takes longer but if yoiu can run injury free, it will be a lot more rewarding for you.... Just a suggestion.....cause that was one of my techniques for over coming my , issues... Additionally I would recommed you keep you long runs down.....legs might not be ready for 12 miles just yet....hold the log run down to 6 or so for a while my $.02 for what little it might be worth.