It’s a runner’s dream to get better and better with every run, but sadly, it doesn’t always happen that way. The fact is that with every run, an athlete is also putting himself at risk of being injured.
The worst nightmare for every runner is to pull out of training midway and the fear of not being able to run for a very long time. And as good as you might feel tapping the pavement with the wind in your hair and sweat on your body, the reality is that your body is made of tissues, muscles and tendons which need to be taken care of.
Founder and Coach of Bombay Running, Deepak Oberoi says: “Running isn’t an exercise but rather a way to test your fitness and endurance. So when you go out for a run, it is categorised as an aerobic activity for which you need overall body strength. Injuries happen when you lack strength; for example, a weak core and glute will lead to shoulder, ankle, knee or all three injuries at the same time. So if you have set goals to run longer distances, make sure you strength train enough and prevent getting injured while running that distance. Also correcting your running form under expert guidance can keep you away from injuries”.
He lists three common mistakes runners make unknowingly:
- More than 50 percent of the injuries happen when runners are fresh out of their recovery period and hit the road immediately once they feel slightly better.
- Going too hard on easy runs and being overambitious take away precious recovery time that your body needs. Recovery is the time when muscles are repaired and gain strength, and is a vital part of your progress. The key role is to go easy.
- Not spending 8-10 minutes warming up and at least a good
10-minute stretch post-run to loosen up the muscles are more important than the run itself and that’s what runners take for granted.
Though there are several runners with their stories and how they got back to running after recovering from a painful injury, here is an account of three runners and their valiant comebacks.
Deepesh Pancholi, 27, Design Consultant and Educator, has been running for the last two years. He had been preparing and training to complete a Half Marathon in less than 100 minutes last year and it wasn’t much of race-specific injury but was a culmination of long impending muscle imbalances that went unanswered. In between, he ran a timed 10km race and was unable to get out of bed two days later and that’s when he realised that this injury would need nursing beyond home remedies and simple rest. A visit to the physiotherapist and then an orthopaedic revealed it was a grade-2 LCL injury.
Deepesh says, “The first 6 weeks of recovery involved a daily visit to the physiotherapist. Electric modalities to the injured area, and isometric strengthening of the muscles around the knees, helped stabilise the joint. A course of painkillers and vitamin tablets in week 1-2 supplemented the initial phase."
Weeks 3-4 involved plyometric exercises followed by gradual loading of the injured leg with full bodyweight. The stabiliser exercises were continued at home.
The final two weeks began with a slow return to walking for short periods of time (10-15 mins) and advancing to 10-minute jogs towards the end. A few downhill repeats were included to determine progress, and plan a comeback to running in the coming weeks. It was 4 weeks from this phase that I planned to build back the capacity to complete a Half Marathon at Tata Mumbai Marathon earlier this year. Immediately after the race, I decided to pull back and focus on strength and resistance training before making a proper return to running. In that sense, I'm still decidedly out of the running game”.
The inability to run and the fear of losing 11 months’ worth of aerobic gains had far-reaching mental effects on him. “I was lucky to find a physio who catered to my mental state just as much as my physical one,” says Pancholi.
Jayesh Kothari, 27, self employed, started running 3 years back but lacked the motivation to show up regularly for the runs and was looking to join a group to keep him motivated. He came across Bombay Running Crew in 2019 and started training with the crew and eventually gained momentum as a runner.
Kothari says, “I dreamt of running the Tata Mumbai Marathon ever since I was in college. I wasn’t aware of terms called warm-up, cool down, half marathon, full marathon.
But I was aware of these terms ever since I joined Bombay running crew and took running on a serious note. I did a few qualifier 10 km runs and started training with the crew for a SUB-2 (within 2 hours) half marathon. I maintained my weekly mileage and also completed the 10x10 (100 km) challenge in October 2019 which helped me increase my stamina.
The core training started in November but all I was focusing was on speed and momentum. I thought it was that easy, but no there was something more to come. I had a "knee injury”.
One month prior to the race he attempted running 18 km at his desired speed. In the middle of the run he started feeling a bit uncomfortable on his knees but continued anyway thinking it is quite common to feel this way. After completing the distance he wasn’t really able to walk.
“After the pain got intense, I was recommended to visit a therapist and underwent some machinery treatments for six days. The doctor said that my muscles have become weak due to lack of proper strength and weight training because all I focused was on speed and ways to improve my timing,” Kothari noted. The injury was meant to come, just that the timing of its arrival was wrong.
How did this affect his mental health since he had just picked up running as a sport?
“I don’t remember any wrong posture or misjudgment of running track and kept thinking about what went wrong? I was asked to be on complete rest for 3-4 weeks which almost killed my determination and passion to keep running. This disheartened me and I avoided seeing people who ran on roads because it triggered my emotions. I went off social media because it upset me for not being able to train with my fellow runners. After all those physio support, exercises and proper nutrition, I felt better two days prior to the race and decided to give it my best”.
Injury has made him more patient and he has taken strength training more seriously.
Sneha Chinchli, 26, Company Secretary and Legal Professional, has been running for more than two years now.
“Running always gave me an ascetic high and beating my own timings made me push myself further. Though my running was backed with strength training sessions, a race in November 2018 in which I attempted sub 2-hour timing for my first half marathon race resulted in stress fracture on the shins. I was informed that a pure vegetarian diet with less protein intake and over-stressing were major reasons for the injury.
How did she recover?
“I’m a very impatient person which was one of the prime reasons for injury and hurrying into distance and timing together. I tried to test myself to run at regular intervals instead of giving the injury a complete rest, which further delayed the recovery process. With a change in the city during the recovery time - led to a change in orthopaedics and physios. Recovery took at least three months after consulting at least five medical practitioners,” Chinchli said.
“I had registered for Tata Mumbai Marathon, 2019 and had to drop out - what can be worse for an Indian runner running the TMM for the first time! But the best part about the injury is that it has taught me patience and made me realise that it is ok to be a spectator and enjoy the process of healing,” she added.
How did she make a comeback?
Her comeback was immensely painful. “Even the thought of landing directly on the heel at any point would give me shudders as it would remind me of the intense pain I had on touching my shin bones. Despite strength training and taking it slow, I have come to realise that I am prone to injuries and am living with the fact that patience is the key and rest days are meant to be taken seriously,” she observed.
Tanvi Kulkarni is a sales professional working with an insurance company and part of Bombay Running Crew.
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