How to prevent injury (when already kind of injured)

[pompelipom]

Soo. I've been a runner for quite some time now, thanks to our dear Laura. This Autumn i ran my first 10K, which is a great achievement for me But I Guess i got too eager- later the same week I went for a speedy 5K and since then ive been getting shin splints every run and even short walks. I've been getting them previously before graduating C25K, and was so excited that I could run injury-free when I stuck to the program this last time. At times they were so bad I couldn't even walk (needed crutches).

As a consequence, I've been running less and less this Winter, but I really do miss it and would like to get back on the horse (trail) again. The last couple of months I've been running approximatly once a week, still With shin-splints (but they are not so bad that they bother me- I only notice that it's there)

So I was hoping some of you fellow runners could help me With a reasonable plan to get back in the game? My stamina has become really bad, and I'm far away from running 5K without breaks. I was thinking about starting in the middle of the program somewhere, perhaps where you run 4 minutes at a time? But I'm wondering if I should take a Complete break from running (and perhaps walking) first? What do you think? And for how long? I've started With some supplements like magnesium, D-vitamin and K2, so I'm really hoping they will do some good when it comes to my apparently lousy bones

Thanks in advance for any answers or if anyone wants to share their experience. And I'm sorry about the poor spelling, this computer keeps changing the Words i Write as it sees fit. (Also, I'm Norwegian, and my English isn't too good)

Have a great winterday (-20 here, brrr..)

[pompelipom]

Of course I forgot to mention what my hope and goal is- To start the program again, but do everything as slow and easy as possible, so that i hopefully can build up again to running Three times a week this spring/summer.

[JoolieB1 Graduate10]

I was doing well after graduating from C25k about 16 weeks ago, 5k was getting easy so crept up to 10k. Booked for a 10k race in June then a Half Marathon in September. Tried a half marathon plan and knees and shins sore, not had any injury before. Going to stop running for a week and see how it feels then. In the meantime, cycling, walking and went swimming today too. I am surprised you are still sore after your rest, have you tried building up your aerobic fitness with other exercises (non impact - cycling, walking, swimming, step aerobics)?

[AncientMum Graduate10]

You're one of lots of people on here who've suffered from shin splints. If you look back over MissWobbles posts from the back end of last year, you might pick up some useful tips. Have you thought of consulting a physiotherapist to get some proper advice about how to deal with the problem and move forward?

When it comes to regaining fitness after a break from running, I'm a great believer in starting again at w1 and enjoying the early weeks as a confidence boost before tackling the longer runs. Good luck

[pompelipom]

Thanks for Your replies. Will definatly check out her earlier posts I'm actually going to a doctor who specialize in these kinds of Things NeXT week for some tests. Other than that im biking and swimming in the summer, and strenght- training all year. I think the reason why the shin splints haven't dissappeared might be because I'm walking almost as much as I was jogging- about 20 km each week. So I Guess the legs haven't rested enough. I also make sure i only run in the forest, not on pavement, have proper fitted shoes and run on the fore-foot, not the heel.

Anyway, I'm thinking Three weeks With no running and less walking should be enough? Still weight-lifting though, but that's supposed to be good I think

And I hope you feel better soon JoolieB1

[beatricerose]

The other tip that helped me with shin splints:

A) properly letting them rest (if they still hurt, unfortunately don't run more)

B) calf strengthening exercises- heel raises and drops on the edge of a step, using both then standing on one leg, up to 3x a day- weak calves are a key cause

C) not over striding and making sure to do more little steps at a higher cadence- it makes it easier not to land on the heel and takes away some of the impact- this really helped me

Good luck! I've had them from August- December so I know how annoying they are

[Hidden]

Sorry can't help with the shin splints but some very sound advise already has been given I really hope you can get to bottom of what is causing them and move forward to running pain and injury free.

I was out for about 4 months early last year with a knee problem .. I jumped back in at week 4 but as AM said starting at week 1 wouldn't be such a bad thing , it would boost your confidence immediately but the bottom line is to resolve the shin splints completely .

I hope you are back running injury free real soon