Today has mostly involved me running my 7 year old son around between various appointments. This morning was a trip to the hospital for his review in the orthotic clinic and then back to school, this afternoon involved collecting him from school early and taking him to the dentist for some preventative treatment. No idea why I thought I'd have more time to myself when the new school term started!
It's been another hot day here and that, combined with my limited time made me decide to give the Speed podcast another go.
The first time I did it, about a month ago, I found it pretty hard work - after every fast minute, my legs wanted to walk (a memory of the run-walk parts of the c25k programme). Today's effort came as a pleasant surprise - even though it was hot, I found the fast minutes more than manageable and the recovery intervals felt pretty slow. I'm really pleased that my fitness seems to have improved in even a short time - it can be hard to notice any change on longer runs.
Whilst in the orthotic clinic this morning, I took the opportunity to chat to the therapist about my leg problems; namely the awful pain I get through my left leg shin, during and after runs. His answer - and I guess I already knew - was shin splints. I know all the advice is to not run for at least a fortnight, but I'm hoping that if I can just push through the next 2 weeks until the 10k race, I can rest it properly afterwards. I'm seeing a podiatrist for a biomechanical assessment on Monday and will take proper advice from them.
My son has hypermobility (meaning he is very bendy, as his tendons are too long for his muscles), which is why he is under the orthotist. He suffers from muscle fatigue, flat feet and weak ankles so needs insoles in his shoes. One of the 10 criteria you have to fulfil 5 of, is whether you can bend over and place your palms flat on the floor in front of your feet, legs straight. I can, as I told the therapist...which led to him looking for 4 other criteria, and bingo! turns out I too have hypermobility! Obviously, Kit has inherited it from me. It goes some way to explain some issues I've had, eg my poor upper body strength and neck and shoulder issues.
So...shin splints and hypermobility all in one day - who knew?!
New runner advice please 
Shin splints - time to stop running?
Just starting out
