Help-New to running

jen_fitnhappy

Poor form, if you run and land on your heel first you're sending all the pressure/stress straight up your shin which can lead to stress fractures, try slowing it down, leaning forward and landing mid/fore foot, it will force you to absorb the impact with your soft tissues (tendons muscles etc) not your bones and joints. Minimalist shoes force you into this style of running whereas shoes w/ huge soft soles allow you to heal strike without any initial pain. Shin splints SUCK, they take forever to heal and can lead to real long lasting damage, take a few days off to heal and then focus on your form.

oh and be warned, running mid/fore foot will force your calves to work a lot harder than they're accustom but muslces will heal and get stronger, bones will fracture.

lol!... so THIS is why my calves hurt now! I just started running outside and my shins were killing me. After reading this advice elsewhere, I focused on landing on midfoot/toes and the shin pain is easing up. Running mid/fore foot is also making the running easier, I feel like its propelling me forward. Even though I spent years running/walking on the treadmill, since I switched to running outside I'm feeling muscles in my legs I've never felt before!