shin pain

[kermit]

I just started running in hopes of doing some sprint tri's this season. I can swim and I primarily bike but need to get the running thing down. So yeaterday I go out and do some run/walk sprints. Today my shins are screaming. Is this normal? I have never liked or been good at running and now don't know if I should continue or go to a treadmill? Any advice from you running girls will be greatly appreciated.

[Wahine]

The first thing I notice here is that you said you did run/walk sprints. Does that mean you were running a hard effort when you ran?? When first starting out you need to jog, no sprinting. There are a lot of great programs that are free online that are couch to 5km programs that seem to work well for most people. For eg. (http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml)

Other things to consider are how are you landing on your foot... if you are heel striking with your foot far out in front or crossing over,that is much harder on your shins. You can correct this by getting a feel for a more efficient foot striking position by doing short stride, skipping drills. To correct crossing over you do 20 sec drills of jogging along a line while concentrating on making sure each foot lands on it's own side of the line. Good shoes are also important, so if you haven't already, go to a qualified store in your area and get some help with that.

Hope that helps.

[kermit]

Thanks for the help. All good points and yes I was doing all out sprint runs. Just trying to get my heart/cardio up. I do have good shoes, first thing I did. I need to step back a bit and jog, that should hopefully narrow down my problem. I guess I overdid. Back to the aspercreme. Thanks again, you rock.

[anakiwa]

I run regularly, but stop completely in the winter to cross-country ski. In the spring, my first few runs cause some pretty significant shin pain. It happens every year, 3 or so runs and it's over with. In my case I think it's just that I don't use those muscles unless I'm running. So if it goes away within 2-3days and doesn't feel as though something is injured (in my case it just feels like there's a ton of lactic acid) it will probably go away once your legs get used to running. (Though obviously you should take it easy on the running until you've figured out what is going on.)

Good luck!

[jennrod12]

I had a lot of shin problems when I started running and even wound up with a stress fracture in my shin and swore off running. Then my company started a running clinic, so I joined. They taught us a basic stretch which I'm sure you've seen runners doing, but that I had never done and it made a world of difference to me (and my shins). I'll try to describe it:

Standing in the street on your left leg with your left toes pointing straight at the curb, put the ball of your right foot on the top of the curb (right on the edge/angle), and let your heel fall down toward, but not touching, the street (so put your foot high enough on the curb so your heel naturally doesn't touch the ground). Your right foot will be more vertical than horizontal. Keeping your right leg straight, bend forward (towards the curb) at the waist. You will probably feel this stretching your hamstring. Hold for 30 seconds, then switch legs.

At first, I always bent my right knee when I did this stretch because I could feel it stretching my shin that way, but the trick is to stretch the hamstring so your shin doesn't get pulled so much while you run.

I hope that was helpful. It's something that really helped me a lot.

Good luck! Jenn