All About Running > Running 101 > Shin pains jsut before my first race
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Shin pains jsut before my first race (Read 261 times)
Bobcat
posted: 4/9/2008 at 6:45 PM
Hi all, I've tried searching for this but i keep comign up with "shin splints" which sounds far more serious that what i have.

I've only started running in the last 6 months and agread to do a 10k race which is now fast approaching (only a week and a half away)

. I've yet to run a full race distance which is disconcerting enough but when training this evening i got horrible pains running up my shins to the point i had to stop. The pain is local to my shins and stronger on my left leg (my leading leg). is this the start of shin splits? and what can i do to ensure i'm not hit by an injury before this race? ... i've only run 50 miles in my neutral running trainers could this be an issue related to this?

any information would be helpful as i'd hate to drop out of my first race due to injury.
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Swamp Despot
posted: 4/9/2008 at 6:51 PM
Ice your shins after running. Warm up slowly before running, maybe walk for 10 mins. Take a day off even. You'll be fine.


Probably. Wink
You're the bestest out of all the minions. ~ Scout7
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posted: 4/10/2008 at 2:29 AM
modified: 4/10/2008 at 6:34 PM
Shorten your stride so you aren't landing so hard on your heels which will reduce the amount of shock to your shins. This can be accomplished by increasing your stride rate, it should be somewhere in the 180 step per minute range. In the mean time treat the symptoms by icing and taking ibuprofen to keep the inflammation down. It will also help to do toe lifts to strengthen the ankle dorsiflexors.

Just so you know, things like medication, ice, cushy new shoes, exercises, etc. all treat the symptoms of shin splints. Unless you treat the cause, ie. poor form, your shin splints will persist. A good check for proper form is to run barefoot on a hard surface. You'll get instant feedback (in the form of pain) if you are heel striking and you will automatically modify your form to make it go away. The trick will be to remember what you changed and do the same when running in shoes.

Tom
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posted: 4/10/2008 at 1:59 PM
It could be your shoes. I know that I was running in the wrong kind of shoe and it was causing me the same sort of pain your experiencing. They were good shoes just the wrong style.
My sport's your sport's punnishment
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Beware of powerlines!
posted: 4/10/2008 at 2:34 PM
modified: 4/10/2008 at 2:37 PM
I wonder if this could be related to those elusive phantom pains many people start to get 2 weeks out before a race. 2 weeks out from my first race ever I came down with a bad case of achilles tendon problems. After the race was finished they never popped up again. I was feeling real pain in my achilles at the time, but I think now that they were just phantom pains. Many runners experience these phantom pains. One is acutely aware of the slightest little twinges and aches, and oftentimes associates otherwise minor pains with debilitating injuries. Many people I know, myself included, always experience these in the 2 weeks leading up to a race. They are very unnerving.

Thus being said, I'm not downplaying, nor am I advocating that you ignore your symptoms!

Take things a little easier this next 1.5 weeks, and avoid the temptations to deviate from your training plan. Make sure to rest on days you're supposed to rest, and don't run faster than you're suppose to on your easy days, even if you feel like you can.

On another note, if you make your training log visible to the public (Options -> My log preferences --> radio buttons) ppl can probably give you better advice as to how you're training etc. in the future.

Best of luck with the 10km. And if you're not going to be able to run this race, there will be many more this year.
Fortitudine Vincimus (by Endurance We Conquer)
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Garrincha
posted: 4/10/2008 at 2:51 PM
I'm just getting through similar shin pain (occurred about 2 weeks ago) and the am finally a little better.
Just to share, these are the steps I took and am finally about 85%
--Ice 2-3 times/day.
--Massage followed by 5-10 min ice (direct icing, keep the ice moving to avoid a burn)
--Rest and substitute low impact exercise (stationary bike, ellliptical)
--Ibuprofen
--Shin stretches/strengthing.


The essential thing in life is not so much conquering, but fighting well.
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