Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Shin in pain

I woke up yesterday with no pain at all, so decided to run a slow 6 miles. Ignoring the temptation to look at my HR watch every so often, I just focused on the run. I felt stiff from the waist down at first, but a mile into the run, felt well enough to stretch the run to 8 miles.

This morning, I bravely undertook a 14-mile long run in 30 degree temperature. There was a layer of frost on every surface and a few miles into the run, I took a rest room break and discovered that my hair and headband were covered with frost as well.

For most of my life, I have lived in places where you tend to sweat profusely, year-round. I think my body has done a pretty good job so far, of adjusting to the cold NJ winter temperatures. The only problem is my freezing hands. By Mile 6, I had to exchange my running gloves for ski gloves. Even with the ski gloves, my fingers felt like tree-stumps when I took out my cell phone to call DH. DH had to open the gatorade and water bottles for me...my fingers felt numb and lifeless.

I was feeling really good...at my usual pace, about 10:30 a mile. I was well into the 12th mile when my shin started hurting. The pain was on the shin bone, right above the ankle. Darn! I was able to alter my running style to minimize the pain and completed the run at a much slower pace. But, the prospect of shin splits worries me. I have heard horror stories on how painful they can be. I wonder if these little injuries are signs of my body screaming overuse. I don't understand...I have been taking care to follow the 10% rule (increasing mileage by not more than 10% per week). When I was training for the marathon, my regular mileage was 30-40 mpw...and the maximum weekly mileage I have done these last few weeks without succumbing to injury has been 39 miles.

The pain stopped a few minutes after the run. I will try to RICE and hope for the best!

On the chocolate fix front: I promised myself a piece of Belgian chocolate before bed if I was a good girl all day yesterday. I did well...I did not touch any, though I had been eyeing little Ramses all day (he was a praline...caramelised sugar and roasted, ground hazelnuts/ almonds, ummm...this is torture!)...well, last night, he became history.

7 comments:

BeachRunner said...

Overuse is probably it. Ice and stretch those legs. Check your form and your running shoes too. Make sure you arent overstriding or landing on your toes, etc and maybe you need a new pair of kicks (cushioning/neutral)? Maybe you can do some kind of cross training like spinning or elliptical to help the shins recover. Maybe I will shut up now. I hope you feel better.

lauren said...

I was going to ask when was the last time you got new running shoes? For me, my shins start bothering me when my shoes are done. I always know when I need a new pair based on this...

I Run for Fun said...

Lauren, I was just thinking it might be the shoes....though I only have 260 miles on them. My Asics usually go up to 450-500. Wonder if it is the brand...this is my first pair of Saucony ProGrid Hurricane 10.

No, don;t shut up...thanks for the suggestions, Beachrunner. I am icing and stretching my legs now...hope that will help. Maybe it's time to go shopping for a new pair of shoes!

Heather said...

Hope your shin feels better. I know chocolate always helps me recover.

teacherwoman said...

OH that icky shin pain. I haven't seen that since I first started running a few years ago. I think my shin pain was due to increasing miles too fast and not taking enough time to build my initial base. Ice and stretch, and rest. :)

You comment about your hands being too cold shocked me. My hands are usually pretty cold when I start out on a run in the 30 degree weather, but it only takes a matter of minutes before they start to feel fine, and sometimes I am losing my gloves by the end of the run. I usually only run with those cheap target finger gloves.

I Run for Fun said...

teacherwoman, it is really weird...my friends say that too. When we go skiing, I always need at least a few pairs of hand warmers besides 2 pairs of gloves to get me through the day.

Anonymous said...

I would make sure to ice and stretch. I had some shin pain over the summer and it ended up being a not in my calf muscle.