I really intended for this running log to be about more than my shins, but that’s been the primary issue for the past couple of months.
It’s been since Jan 8 since I ran. I took a couple of weeks off from running during the holidays, then backed off to a time target of 18 minutes. The shins were still extremely sore at that so, for the second run in 2011, I targeted 16 minutes. I ran it, but limped home from the finish in pretty sharp pain. My right shin just felt fatigued, but the left one just plain hurt.
Three weeks later, the right shin is fine. There’s still some pain in the left shin. It’s pretty clear to me that I’ve incurred a stress fracture in that shin. The pain is worst when twisting the leg.
So, the plan is pretty simple. I’ll wait to run at all until I’ve been two weeks pain-free. I’m doing some daily stretching and toe taps to build the muscles around the shin in the meantime, and am staying on the stationary bike to maintain “active rest.” When I do start running again, it’ll be primarily on the treadmill to rebuild endurance on a surface with some give. I’ll move back out onto pavement as the endurance increases, with shorter runs than on the treadmill.
Most importantly, I need to be sure to listen to my legs. When there’s pain, I need to back off and let the healing happen.
With some diligence and patience, I should be able to heal and be better off on the other side.
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