Runners ~ need advice

horseshowmom

horseshowmom

Cathlete
Hello any runners! Thanks for taking the time to read this!

I don't consider myself a runner, but have undertaken a half-marathon training program. Friday was the end of Week 4 of 12 and my 1st ever 5 mile run. (I have incredible training partners!) We did it in a respectable 53 minutes, after having set 3 mile personal bests on Wednesday (3 of us slashed 2 minutes off our previous best!) I really felt fine, which shocked me. I'm not even quite as terrified about the 7 miles coming up Friday.

So, here's the question....I was supposed to do an easy 3 miles on the treadmill today, but I could only do 1. I took the weekend off except for easy walks with my dog. My lower legs are just killing me. I've had shin splints before, but nothing that felt like this. The pain is worse on the left and more on the inner part of the upper shin. It hurts while walking and even sitting. How do you know when it's just training pain or simply shin splints vs. a stress fracture? I am planning on popping Naproxen before our 4 miles tomorrow so I can get it done. Am I in danger of making it worse if this is just a shinsplint? Is it okay to run through pain?
I do have a check-up previously scheduled on Wednesday. Should I mention it to the doctor and maybe ask for an x-ray?
Please don't hesitate to tell me if I'm just being a wimp. I've never run before so I honestly don't know how much your body should put up with. I definitely don't want to lose my training time and have to stop. I'd rather pop some Advil and keep going.

Thanks so much for any advice. I really appreciate your input! And seriously, I'm okay with the wimp diagnosis! :p

Becky
 
Please take it easy. Ramping up your mileage too quickly can cause a lot of injuries- shin splints, tendonitis, and yes stress fractures. You said you're a beginning runner, so just listen to your body. I try not to run more than 3, no more than 4 days a week. Take a few days off if you have to, and do talk to your Dr.!! Happy pain-free running!
 
I would agree. Are you saying you went from no running to 5 miles in 4 weeks? And you are doing 7 miles this week? That's a very fast ramp up of mileage. I've always read no more than 10% increase in distance each week.

I wouldn't take medicine to mask the pain. I think that is asking for more/worse injury.
 
I agree with Jess. To be running 5 miles within only 4 weeks seems like too much too fast to me. The result? You are in pain already. I certainly would not take any medication in order to lessen pain so that I could run, and all running experts will tell you this is the worst thing you could do. If you lessen the pain and then run anyway, you are destroying your body's ability to send you clear messages: pain means damage, starting your run with pain (even lessened through pills) means further damage.

Don't run until the pain stops. When you start back again, back off on the total mileage you cover. Find a distance you can cover without pain and hold that for a week at least, before SLOWLY increasing your distance by no more than 10% each week.

In the meanwhile, RICE and doctor's visit if the pain does not take care of itself.

Clare
 
Hi Becky,

I am also training for a half-marathon in December and have noticed that my shin splints flaring up a bit more but they usually go away in a day or two. I did a 15K on Saturday and the first 3 miles were torture because my shins were killing me. It hurt more to walk so I kept running and by mile 4 the pain stopped. I ran 3 miles on Sunday morning and didn't have any pain, although I can feel it a bit now in my shins.

I agree with the others that you might be amping up your mileage too quickly. I would rest for a couple of days and see if the pain goes away.

When is your half-marathon?
 
horseshowmom said:
Am I in danger of making it worse if this is just a shinsplint? Is it okay to run through pain?

Becky
Click to expand...

Yes and no. Meaning YES you are in danger of injuring yourself further - if you run with pain even if you do not directly injure the area in pain (which is quite possible here), you will run with a gait that is different from your typical gait and you run a real risk of a game ending injury to your knee or hip (even your back).

So, NO it's not okay to run through the pain. I have a friend who is a sports doctor and he says that he sees more serious injuries from people using drugs like Advil to mask pain and running through it, then just about anything else. I would rest completely until the shin splits die down, and SLOWLY ramp up again. Also consider the surfaces on which you are running. Your best bet would be to find a high school track that's dirt and start back up on that. Dirt is much easier on your body as it has much more give. The absolute worst surface is concrete (like most sidewalks). Avoid those like the plague. If you HAVE to run streets - run on the tarmac - it's softer than concrete. I would also avoid treadmills if possible - just because the movement is not natural (the belt is pushing you along) - and treadmills can cause injuries as well.

I would tell the doctor of your shin splints and ask his advice as well. If they hurt that bad, he may want to X-Ray them just in case, but I'll bet your muscles are just screaming from over use. Shin splints can be horrid. You absolutely need to rest them - this is not pain you can push through without injury.
 
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andtckrtoo said:
Yes and no. Meaning YES you are in danger of injuring yourself further - if you run with pain even if you do not directly injure the area in pain (which is quite possible here), you will run with a gait that is different from your typical gait and you run a real risk of a game ending injury to your knee or hip (even your back).

So, NO it's not okay to run through the pain. I have a friend who is a sports doctor and he says that he sees more serious injuries from people using drugs like Advil to mask pain and running through it, then just about anything else. I would rest completely until the shin splits die down, and SLOWLY ramp up again. Also consider the surfaces on which you are running. Your best bet would be to find a high school track that's dirt and start back up on that. Dirt is much easier on your body as it has much more give. The absolute worst surface is concrete (like most sidewalks). Avoid those like the plague. If you HAVE to run streets - run on the tarmac - it's softer than concrete. I would also avoid treadmills if possible - just because the movement is not natural (the belt is pushing you along) - and treadmills can cause injuries as well.

I would tell the doctor of your shin splints and ask his advice as well. If they hurt that bad, he may want to X-Ray them just in case, but I'll bet your muscles are just screaming from over use. Shin splints can be horrid. You absolutely need to rest them - this is not pain you can push through without injury.
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Ditto to all of the above. One other thing is that if you're new to running, I would just focus on building up your endurance safely and not be too fixated on speed for now. It's possible you've been pushing a little too hard. JMHO.

Here's an RW article that might be of interest. An oldie but a goodie:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-241-290--529-1-3X6-3,00.html
 
You have gotten some really good advice. I would agree with all of the above and would also say that I think you might be bumping up your milage way to fast. I did that my first go round with a half and half way though had to postpone do to injuries. The second time I trained for my half I realized you can't tack on milage too quickly. If I read that your training is for 12 weeks I think that is a great program as long as you had a good base milage to begin with. If you just began to run with one or two miles from week 1 than you need a longer training program. Hope that made sense. Just take it easy. Your body will let you know. When I trained for my half this past Oct. I began with a long run of 7 miles to start with and had 12 weeks from that point. Had I begun with 1-2 mile long runs you will need 16 weeks for sure..
 
karenvictoria said:
You have gotten some really good advice. I would agree with all of the above and would also say that I think you might be bumping up your milage way to fast. I did that my first go round with a half and half way though had to postpone do to injuries. The second time I trained for my half I realized you can't tack on milage too quickly. If I read that your training is for 12 weeks I think that is a great program as long as you had a good base milage to begin with. If you just began to run with one or two miles from week 1 than you need a longer training program. Hope that made sense. Just take it easy. Your body will let you know. When I trained for my half this past Oct. I began with a long run of 7 miles to start with and had 12 weeks from that point. Had I begun with 1-2 mile long runs you will need 16 weeks for sure..
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Hi Karen! It's great to see you post again. How are you doing? So you're going to train for a full marathon next year? Good for you!
 
Thanks Jess. We miss you over in the Den. I was gone for sometime and when I got back you were gone. I kept tabs on your triathalons which were amazing by the way. Pretty much the kids have kept me busy as with running. I hope to do a full but the hills did a number on me at the half. I'm hoping for spring.
 
Thanks for all the advice! I was actually hoping for a wimp diagnosis! ;)

To clarify my mileage...I had done a little running in Aug/Sept...maybe a total of 20 miles combined over the 8 weeks. The half program I found started with Week 1 mileage of 11 total, 2=9, 3 = 12, last week was 14, this week is a total of 18. I'm training with another beginner and one lady with 3 years of running experience. Guess who isn't hurting?

I'm sad, but I guess I'd better back off for a while. Better to lose a few weeks than months, right?

Thanks again!

Becky
 
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