Diagnosis: Phooey
Following Jon’s comment yesterday about my calf complaints sounding like shin splints, I did a little investigating. I’ve certainly heard people talk about shin splints enough times but I really didn’t have an awareness of how they presented. Suddenly I found myself reading about the exact symptoms I’m experiencing – and feeling my heart fall a little. What does this mean for my Boilermaker training??
Some of the information said Stop Running, but other articles suggested that if the discomfort is mild to moderate it may be sufficient to cut mileage by 50% for a couple of weeks and be vigilant about proper stretching (although I really have been faithful to consistent stretching, including calves). Also to utilize heat before a run, ice and NSAIDS after, and perhaps compression. Since the pain is not sharp or severe at this point, I think that’s the road I would like to try. I’ve got 7 weeks till the race so I’m hoping that if I address this now I can avoid trouble down the road. Frankly, if I can just prevent any further injury to the area till after the race, I would happily take a full break and heal it up right afterward. Is that foolhardy? Unrealistic? God I hope not.
So as it stands, my plan for this week will be to continue with the resistance bands, and to pull out the old bike and roll that around. I am registered for the Hall of Fame 5K on Sunday, which I would like to do. Over the next couple of weeks I will plan on running fewer day and fewer miles and try to make it up with time on the bike. Then I’ll see where I’m at.
Comment by Jon in Michigan
Wednesday May 18 2005 @ 11:10 am
OK, that totally sucks. But the good news is you are catching it early and you have 7 weeks. Crosstraining helps give you time to heal. One thing I did was wrap an ice pack around myshin with an ace bandage and lay on the floor with my feet up on the sofa. You get compression, ice, and elevation all at once. Fall asleep and you get rest too, but frostbite as well.
I found that stretching on a stair helped. Hang the ankles over the edge and let them stretch all the way down. It hyperextended my calves, so I had to be careful but it did bring me alot of relief.
I sure hope the reduced mileage helps, Lara. I think I didn’t do that until it was very late in the game and I had alot of pain. I just dreaded the first few steps of ever race, and should have backed off earlier.
Keep us posted on your progress.