Injury Update

It seems like an eternity since I have run. Too long to really dwell on, or else depression might set in. I have resigned myself to the fact that my Spring races are no longer do-able. The Summer races might not be do-able either. So that leaves me with concentrating on getting healed and in shape for the Waddell and Reed Kansas City Marathon in October. I won't add any new races to my schedule, because I have already wasted too much money on races I cannot race. The pain of wasted money is just as severe as the injury itself.

From my last post, I was starting to do some barefoot running. For now, I need to put all running on hold until my Achilles tendon heals and I can run without pain. This includes running pain-free in shoes. I have been spending all my time either barefoot or in Vibrams, which I believe will help me in the long term. I get funny looks, but I never really cared about what other people think of my style choices.

In the short term, I am continuing to see a physical therapist every week. In the long term, and when I am able to run again, I will need to act like a beginner...run with the proper mechanics, form, and flexibility. Because I am a little more flexible than a 2x4, I have some work. But, it all contributes to proper form and mechanics for the long-term solution of running well and injury free.

Another goal is going to be adjusting what I am racing. I have been focused solely on running races. However, I am enjoying the forced cross-training of swimming and biking, so maybe the focus will become triathlon. We will see.

M

March 11 - 17

I learned more this week about running than I have ever known. I finished Barefoot Ken Bob Saxton's book, Barefoot Running: Step by Step, and the simple information as it applies to running has so far caused a breakthrough!

Barefoot Ken Bob is a preeminent advisor on barefooting, author of the first website on barefoot running, Running Barefoot, and guru on proper running form and economy. I won't preach the virtues of running barefoot here, but what Ken Bob teaches is form, economy, technique, and mental adjustment. There are many forms of advice, but he delivers his simply and with a conciseness that even the most stubborn shod runner shouldn't ignore. If you want to get over an injury, run injury free, he has the answers.

I am also lucky enough to work in the same building as another legend in barefoot running, Barefoot Rick. He has run more mile barefoot than anyone in documented history. I see him running along the campus regularly...even in the snow. His website contains valuable information as well. I am thrilled that a legend in barefoot running is willing to be so accessible.

So what did I learn? I learned that I don't run correctly. Yes, yes, I've heard we are all an experiment of one. That's nice. But human beings are all alike, for the most part. So the baseline for the "experiment of one" is the same.

• Run with your knees bent.
• Run relaxed
• Run tall from the waist up
• Run from your haunches (like a cat)
• 180 cadence is great
• If you feel pain, then you need to adjust what you are doing

So why can't we do this with shoes? You probably can, but the feedback you receive wearing shoes is minimal. The foot provides more feedback than my wife after a long day. What feedback? Well, check out Ken Bob's and Rick's websites, and buy the book...then you will know.

Results
My Monday and Wednesday runs hurt. My Achilles was aching terribly. Walking hurt too. Then, Wednesday night, I started reading "Barefoot Running: Step by Step". Then I ran on Friday. Barefoot. No pain in my Achilles. Bliss!

I am not naive enough to think I am miraculously healed. I still need to stretch my calf muscles and Achilles. But, running with the correct form and technique, which cannot be simulated in shoes or Vibrams, is the only way to maximize my running longevity. It does require a bit of humility. Some folks' egos are simply too broad to let them try. But mine isn't. I care about running. I care about being healthy. So I will let my feet do the rest of the talking.

Monday: 1.3 miles in VFF Bikila - road; 1 hour on bike trainer
Tuesday: Core and strength
Wednesday: 2.6 miles in VFF Bilila - road; Core and strength
Thursday: 45 min. on bike trainer; Core and strength
Friday: 1.3 miles barefoot - road; 1 hour on bike trainer
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest

 

Total running miles: 5.2

Running Experiment: The Road Less Traveled

Well into the fifth week of achilles tendonitis, much reflection has been given to why this injury exists in my left leg. Secondarily, what caused all the other injuries I have incurred from running?

Achilles tendonitis in right leg (2009)
Morton's Neuroma in right foot (2010 - 2011)
Plantar fasciitis in left foot (2011)
Achilles tendonitis in left leg (2012)

So, what caused these injuries? I have no idea, nor will I ever know because there is no film of me running during these times, only race photographs. I used to heal-strike, so maybe that was it. Then I gradually changed to a forefoot striker, but maybe my upper body wasn't moving in concert with my legs. Maybe my core was too weak. At this point, it doesn't matter what was, only what will be.

What amounts to speculation results in lack of proof. However, there is ample amounts of research.

At http://www.naturalrunningcenter.com/, there is an excellent video of proper running economy. I have studied this video several times, which led me to video my form on a treadmill. I found few differences. BUT, I was wearing Vibrams when I filmed myself. So how do I run with shoes?

Experiment and Commitment: For the next several months, I am going to run solely in Vibram Five Fingers - Bikila (and eventually in Spryidon Trail LS) in an effort to fix my maladies and injury-ridden legs. If I can develop a economical form that reduces / eleminates injury, then I will gain countless running years in my life. And what about speed? I will sacrifice speed in the short term to gain efficiency in the long term, but based on research of aging and speed, I should be able to regain my current fitness quickly, and eventually surpase it.

Let me be clear - I am not running barefoot. I am running in Vibrams, which some consider to be the same as running barefoot, but shouldn't. I am going to invest in my legs, in the gift that God has given me, to extend my running life for as long as possible. I am blessed to be able to run, and if I don't take care of the gift I have been given, it could expire.

2012 Plan: For the next 4 weeks, I will run every other day, beginning at 1.3 miles per day, working up to 5 - 7 miles per day. The following month, I will add in an extra run per week, and gradually increase my mileage. If my body tells me to back off, I will. If I feel I can go more, I will not, until month 3.

2012 Races: My spring schedule is pretty much shot right now. I can either rush through recovery with shoes, run the races, and risk delay of healing, OR I can cut my loses now, pick a goal race, and take baby steps to get there.

June - Hospital Hill 13.1 (used as a training run)
July - Psycho Psummer Run Toto Run 50k (trail) - Goal race
October - Kansas City Marathon - Goal Race

To be continued...