Headed back to the gym on Wednesday and ended up in floods of tears after not even being able to run a mile. I decided to give in and rest for a few days to try and figure out what to try next...So far I think I have figured out the following:
- I nearly always have shin splints after running on concrete and need at least 2, more like 3, days of rest afterwards.
- Stability shoes and/or running barefoot doesn't seem to make any difference.
- Landing on the fronts of my feet seems to help a little.
- You can't just ignore shin splints and run anyway - it makes them worse.
- Rest works wonders but you lose confidence, time and aerobic capabities.
- I haven't tried ice yet because it sounds like it wouldn't work.
I spent the weekend reading running magazines and found an article that really resonated with me. It said that instead of visualizing a perfect run each time that you should
visualize a terrible run, anticipate and prepare for set backs. This way you will have a plan when they happen. So this morning I hit the gym at 7am imagining the worst - terrible pain (I'll switch to the cross trainer), lousy time (that's OK - I'll keep it slow and be happy with being able to do anything at all), negative thoughts (I'll shake them off and celebrate just staying in the gym and sweating for 30 minutes), boredom (I'll listen to comedy on my ipod).
I had a fantastic run in the end - 5K in 33:33 and I felt like a rockstar! I even iced my shins when I got back to Tampa. At this point I'll try anything because when it goes well, running is just the best feeling ever:).
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