My Worst Nightmare....Shin Splints

I am kicking myself in the "you know what" today because my shin splints are back!  It was a stupid decision to try out my new shoes on a 10 mile run!  Only my left shin that had been bothering me, but now it's both!

This was me on Monday, icing my shins to death and hoping that this was all just a dream, or should I say my worst nightmare! (Please excuse the my dogs' pee-pee pad in the background, but I was too lazy to pick it up for the picture!)  I am so irritated with myself because my last post talked about the great week that I had coming up and how close I was was to achieving a hundred mile month. My running buddy, Shawna, was just getting through this and now it is my turn....again! Like I have said before, shin splints are contagious! People tell me all the time that I should do something else beside running, but I am not ready to retire yet. I have too many goals to achieve before I call it quits.

110% Play Harder

 

I get so frustrated with shin splints because I can't really ice them at work like I need to.  I ice them at night but I don't think that it is good enough.  I was going crazy thinking about the whole icing problem at work and I went on the hunt for a solution. I came across some compression sleeves from 110% Play Harder that have built-in slots for ice sheets.  The thermafreeze packs can be inserted during or after your workout and stay frozen for up to two hours.  They were not cheap ($75.00) but if they help, then they are worth every penny!  I should have them by the end of this week, and once I try them out I will have to let you all know if I recommend them or not.

My First Visit to Road Runner Sports

Shawna and I took a trip to Road Runner Sports during our lunch on Wednesday to see what kind of running shoes "Shoe Dog" would recommend for me. The Nike's that I have been wearing for the longest are classified by Road Runner Sports as "Neutral" shoes so maybe I shouldn't have switched to the ASICS Gel Kayano 17's which are "Stability +" shoes?? I know, I am a mess!

Woof! Meet "Shoe Dog."

Sorry! No photo of me running in my work pants!

I took the "Shoe Dog" test, which required me to run barefoot on a treadmill for 30 seconds while being videotaped from the waist down. The video is then played back in slow motion and analyzed to identify my running style.  My results indicated that a Stability shoe is the best fit for me, so I was happy to know that I did not make too bad of a choice with my new ASICS, which fall into the Stability category.

Shoe Dog's recommendation

Trevor, my kind salesman, made me some custom inserts based on my running style and my arch type.  I found out that I have medium arches, I put most of my weight on my heels and I land on my heels when I run! The inserts were not cheap, but they have a 100% money back guarantee for 30 days! I wasn't obligated to buy them, but I kind of felt bad for Trevor after all of the time that he spent working with me and my feet, so I bought them. Yes, my feet were clean but I did skip my much needed pedicure because of my missing toenail.  I hope he didn't notice it! Trevor also told us that he had a bout with shin splints in the past and he fixed them by using inserts.  Maybe this was just a sales pitch but it's worth a try for me.  He was also telling us about his marathon experiences and the Long Beach Marathon course. He claims that it is not a flat course...great!

I am going to do things right once my shins calm down.  I can't wait to try out the new inserts in my shoes!  Hopefully, "Shoe Dog" got it right and my shins agree with him too!

The One Hundred Push Up Challenge

So for now it looks like I have to spend more time cross training, which I think I kind of hate!  I will now be forced to go to spin class and continue with my stability ball workout at home.  I have to say that since I have started to cross train I have developed a little bit more strength in my arms that I never had before.  Three months ago I couldn't even do a single push up.  Now I can actually do 12 !  Don't laugh!  I am really proud of myself for accomplishing this!! My goal is to be able to do 100 consecutive push ups.  I came across this website onehundredpushups which provides a six week training program on completing 100 consecutive push ups!  First you have to take the initial test and then you follow a six week push up training program based on your fitness level. Now that I can do a few, I think I will try it out to keep myself distracted from my shin splints! How many consecutive push ups can you do? And I mean real push ups...not the "girl" push-ups!