You're going to have to learn heel-down. If you don't, you'll snap the peddle in two when you get to anything harder.
...or slap a decently thick piece of metal on it.
It is amazing how much of a difference having a good technique makes. I played on the drums quite a lot on hard and expert and the pedal never even showed a sign of wear. However, after a few of my friends played for one night on easy it started splitting on the side and top (it's not completely broken...yet...one more game session and it definitely will be). Not sure whether it was just That Time(TM) or what, but the timing seemed awfully odd.
Regardless, the design on the pedal is so poor that it makes my head hurt. If you push it from the middle it bows inward badly due to the middle section being able to travel further than the top, quickly damaging it. However, if you push it from the top it bows outward ever-so-slightly, which will no doubt lead to a snapped pedal due to the spring pushing back. The only real way to keep it in one piece (literally) is if the entire pedal move down uniformly (in other words, a piece of metal covering the pedal should work wonders).