Portland Fit Week 13 Long Run

Date: 27 June 2009
Time: 6:55 a.m.
Location: Portland, Oregon
Distance: 10 miles
Run Details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/7629275

I joined the slower Red Group at Portland Fit today for the 10 mile long run as I did not do a long run last weekend and my mileage has dropped significantly over the last 2 weeks. We started off at 6:55 a.m. from Conway and headed towards the east waterfront via the steel bridge. It's my first long run using my Forerunner 305 so I was keen on finding out how well it tracks my run data. It is also my first long run since Helvetia Half and technically completing the corrective treatment of my leg length discrepancy at Clearwater Clinic Portland Oregon.

Crossing over the Willamette and running down the Vera Katz waterfront, I started to feel the all familiar tightness on the outside of my right knee. Stretching my leg helped relax the IT Band there but the tightness came back again after I passed OMSI. I felt strange because I did not have my ITB acting up so early in a run before this. Right before entering Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, I realized that I have been trying to reduce the pronation on my right foot since the beginning of this training program. Looking at my right foot, I felt that it has the tendency to point outwards more than the left foot in order to pronate. It could have been because the right leg was shorter hence the pointing out of the foot.

I decided then to run by letting my right foot point out the way it wants to and the aching in my ITB was reduced. Recalling what I saw in the human anatomy chart at the clinic, it all makes sense. By forcing my right foot to point in while running, it stretches the ITB and increases its tension across the knee giving rise to the ache. But recall that my left foot can point forward without my left ITB aching. Why is that so? It brings me back to what I learnt in a sports science class when I took Taekwondo as a co-curiculum course during my university days...

The bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons mainly work together to allow us to move. Connecting muscles to bones are tendons which by nature is less flexible than muscles. On top of that, tendons are less likely to become more pliable through condition. In fact, when we stretch, it is the muscles that mainly elongate and we are conditioning the muscle to become more pliable and rarely the tendon.

Coming back to the question earlier... the answer lies in conditioning. Dr. Greg has done a marvellous job in fixing my leg length difference. However, the muscle in my right thigh is not as conditioned as the one in my left. Therefore it is not as efficient in elongating to accommodate the gait change in my right foot. Whatever the muscle does not do is passed to the tendon and part of it, the ITB which then wraps tightly around my knee causing it to hurt.

The ache never went away throughout the whole run but it was mild and manageable. Hopefully in the long term, with proper conditioning I can correct my gait and run pain-free.