Shin splints

[James2529]

I signed up for a 10k a couple of weeks ago but the timeline meant I had to go from 5k to 10k in about 5 weeks.

I jumped from running 5k to 7k in one increase.

After my third 7k run I wanted to increase to 7.5k. However, immediately as I broke into a run my shins screamed at me to stop. I tried stretching and rubbing it out but to no avail, it was too painful to run.

According to the Internet I'll need to rest for 2 weeks minimum and it's really bumming me out as I almost certainly won't be able to do the 10k.

Any advice on recovering, avoiding this in the future or maintaining my hard-fought-for best-ever fitness?

[JaySeeSkinny Graduate10]

The general wisdom is not to increase your longest distance by more than 10% a week. This is to allow your body to adapt. So from 5k to 5.5, 6 etc. Large jumps can put your body under great strain, and just as c25k builds you up slowly, the 10% "rule" ensures that you can cope. I got to 10k after about 6 weeks, but also had shin problems and realised I'd been pushing too hard. A week of rest sorted me out, but my shins did not scream at the time, but started to hurt the next day (also a classic shin splint symptom), so I don't think I had them too badly. I dont know what the cure is. Rest and ice worked for me!

[James2529 in reply to JaySeeSkinny]

Thanks for the advice! How did you get back to running after your week off? I'm gonna try again on Monday, as that will have been a week's rest for me.

[JaySeeSkinny Graduate10 in reply to James2529]

I started back slowly. I think I did a slow 4K, listening to my body all the time. And I cut back the mileage. It took me about another 3 months until I did my next 10k.