Thursday, September 18, 2014

Half Marathon Training

Shin splints. Have you ever had them? If not, let me explain. It's shooting pain down the front or back of your shin bone. It makes it difficult to walk, let alone, run. I had a lovely run-in with shin splints my second week of training and oh do they suck. I iced my shins, changed my shoes, tried running on a treadmill, tried going even slower (which is difficult, I run like a snail lol), and just could not shake them. The feeling of defeat was real. I felt like there was no way I was going to fix them in time to train for my race. A friend had mentioned that I could do the 10k instead which I had eventually resigned myself to until my trainer sent over some shin exercises and I found another kind online.  So I got started with them and OH do they BURN. But I swear to you within a few days I was feeling better. I wasn't walking with pain, I jogged a bit and didn't feel like dying. I tested out my legs last Friday at the track at the gym and somehow was able to do 4.5 miles and it was AWESOME. Hence, the above picture of me grinning.

 And then, over the weekend I got up at the crack of dawn and ran my first long run and didn't die. That is exciting stuff guys! And so I'm back at it and I could not be happier. I genuinely welcome the good pain I feel when I'm running. The kind that comes from forcing myself to be stronger. The kind that makes me out of breath but excited that the next time I do the same workout, it'll be easier. The picture below is after I finished some interval training my trainer had me do to get me back to my goal pace and it was full of the good pain. It was so so hard and so so worth it. I felt so incredibly accomplished afterwards. Even if my shins were aching a bit and my knees were done. I cannot wait for that half marathon. I am going to crush it. It is going to be hard but wonderful at the same time. I'll be able to cross another distance off my list and that it too exciting.
What have YOU been up to?? Tell me about your latest accomplishment!

1 comment:

  1. I suffered shin splints for almost 10 years. It was so painful experience. You need appropriate exercise program for this kind of problem. I started to look for a solution and after some years I decided to collect all what I learned in that years of pain and from the people I helped (I'm a personal trainer). I have started a blog where I write articles about shin splints and other common runner's injuries, feel free to check it out! http://never-never-never-give-up.com :)

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