I was hoping I wouldn’t have to create this category and I hope this is the only post it ever gets. My left leg has gone from general calf tightness to a definate shin splint. Now, that’s certainly not the worst injury in the world, but I am worried about it turning into a stress fracture if I’m not careful with it.
“Shin splints” is basically a term used to describe any pain in the front of the lower leg. In my case, it’s my left leg and the pain is a few inches above my ankle on the inside portion of the leg. The pain is apparently a result of an inflammation of the connective tissue that results from the relative weakness of the muscles on the front of the lower leg compared to those of the rear.
The best thing to do is the usual RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation). I’ve been doing the latter three. It’s the rest part that’s hard for me.
Planned Workout
10 minutes warmup
2 miles at 7:35 pace, 1 mile easy, 2 miles at 7:35 pace
10 minutes cool down
Actual workout
10 minutes warmup
1 mile at 7:35 pace, 400 m easy, .5 miles at 8:30 pace.
5 minutes cool down.
I was afraid of hurting myself further, so like Monday I cut the workout short. I’m not sure what to do about the long run on Saturday. I’ve been thinking of doing 6 miles, or doing 2 easy miles, or resting completely. I’d rather rest it and heal it now, then have it fester for the next 27 weeks. Tomorrow, I’ll go ahead and do a mixed upper/lower body strength workout.
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