In Stitches and Splints

Recently, I bought The Complete Idiot's Guide to Running, (hereafter referred to as TCIGTR) which has, among lots of other information, a set of workouts that build up to running 30 minutes without stopping. Since I run a pretty slow mile, this will enable me to run more than 2 miles comfortably by the time the marathon training classes start in March. Since they start the training at 2 miles, I figure this will guarantee that I don't embarass myself.

The workouts started with walking ten minutes, alternating running 1 minute with walking 1 minute for ten minutes, then walking ten minutes. They build up from there, adding more running and less walking until eventually you're running the entire 30 minutes. Ideally, it should take 4 weeks of running 4 times per week.

Well, I have good news and bad news. I, like Wesley in The Princess Bride, am a firm believer in bad news first. However, in this case, the bad news is really the main topic of this post so we'll start with the good news.

The good news is I made it through the toughest run yet in the TCIGTR plan. I was very nearly positive I wouldn't make it through this one on the first try, so I'm stoked that I did it. It was really tough, I won't lie, but I'm really glad I didn't give up.

On to the bad news. My shins are killing me. KILLING ME. I asked the trainers at The Women's Club about them, and they gave me some advice: stretches, strengthening exercises, crosstraining, and cutting back my running to 2x per week until they heal.

I'm really bummed that I am having this set-back in my training. Part of me wants to push through the pain and do it anyway, but I know that's a terrible plan. The LAST thing I want to have happen is a stress fracture, which according to TCIGTR can develop from shin splints. So I'm taking it easy this week, doing The Lift tonight and maybe swimming on Thursday, then a short run on the weekend. I'm hoping to add in spinning next week and a bit more running if my legs feel better, but I'm not going to try for four in one week until the week after next. This still gives me just enough time to get to 2 miles before training starts. So expect lots of cross-training posts in the next two weeks.

I'm kind of panicking with how quickly time is going. The marathon will be here before I know it! I also didn't use strong enough wording in the last paragraph: I'm really damn frustrated that I can't run as much as I want to!! (Mom and Dad, pick yourselves up off the floor. Yes, I just said I WANT to run. Don't feel bad, I surprised myself, too.)

Anyway, to my running friends, if you have any advice on shin splints and/or how much or how little I should be running, I would love to hear it!

A side note: A HUGE thank you to the ladies at The Women's Club, who are so knowledgeable and nice. I've never had a gym that had certified trainers at the front desk who you could talk to without an appointment and without shelling out one red cent. Amazing.