Week 5 Day 1 was awful ... Shin Splints?

missa482

Last night, I started week 5. When I saw that I'd be doing 3 rounds of 5 minutes, I thought no big deal. (This is huge for me, because I tend to psych myself out when I start a new week.) I start my first 5 minute run and I'm uncomfortable. My left shin is killing me. By the time I finish my last minute run, I am in tears. With every step, I felt the pain in my left shin. I iced it a when I got home and later on in the evening. This morning, it does not hurt, except for when I walk down the stairs. I'm planning on redoing day 1 tomorrow ( as I was not able to complete all 3 5 minute runs). Could this be shin splints?

When I first started, I felt plan in the same shin after running ... it would last a day. I started icing after my runs, bought insoles for my new running sneakers, changed my route so that I was only running on black top (avoiding the concrete sidewalks) and made sure I gave myself 24 hours rest in between. This worked great until yesterday. Please don't tell me that I have to stop running ... I've come so far and I've signed up for my first 5k in November. I'm running for my Dad as its a prostate cancer run and he's a survivor.

likitisplit

You don't have to stop running.

The most common cause of shin splints is heel striking. Try to keep your steps fast and short so you're not reaching out in front of you with your feet. It can be just that your muscles are adapting and it will go away when you build them up. Another thing that people have found to be helpful are compression socks that go up over the calves.

maijanz

Have you tried doing extra stretches that target the shin and calf muscles? When I was suffering from shin splints I found stretching to be an invaluable help. Try different stretches and see which ones feel most effective.

Here a couple of links:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/18797-stretches-shin-splints/
http://www.wikihow.com/Treat-Shin-Splints-by-Stretching

rduhlir

Ice Baths are great for shin splints (that is what they do in boot camp). If needed, take an extra day between runs, but only one extra day. Aerobic activity starts to deplete after 3 days, so if you feel you need to still rest then bring in some form of cross training (30 minutes). It will give your legs the needed time to heal but still maintain the aerobic level you are at so that you can go back to the week when you can.

Ice after every run, even if you don't think you need too. You have plenty of time to complete C25K by November, but do it safely and take care of those shin splints. They are an annoyance in the begining, but if you push too hard through them then they can turn into stress fractures and that would put you out of commission for months running. So remember R.I.C.E, Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate.

Also, the compression sleeves Varda talks about are great, but use them after you run. You get more benefit from them after you run then using them during the run. Another tip, refrain from doing a hot bath or anything with heat right after the run. The heat can actually inflame the area even more and cause the healing process to suffer. Always ice or ice baths.

missa482

Thank you all for the advice! I'm happy to hear that I do not have to stop.