Tag: running after shin splints

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Activities Cancer Cole Health Running Ryan

First Half Marathon: 4 Years in the Making- Part 2

Part 2 of my first half marathon attempt, at the Denver Rock & Roll Half and Full Marathon

(Part 1 can be found here)

Four days before the race, I had an appointment with my orthopedic surgeon and physical therapist for my elbow.  The surgeon released me, saying I was two months ahead of recovery schedule and he gave me his “blessing” to run, saying there would be no consequences to my elbow. The physical therapist said I was ahead of schedule as well, and with another month, she was confident we could work out the last of the resistance in my elbow to it being fully extended.

I was so excited- it felt like a giant weight had been lifted, and I now had the confirmation I was going to be OK- I wasn’t going to be limited to one arm, in pain, for the rest of my life. That was it- there was no reason medically I could not run. The next day, Thursday, I did a light workout, just to get the legs moving, and I felt a shin splint pain, when I was done. It was in the same place it had been over the summer.  I rolled it out on the foam roller, and tried not to freak out.  I told myself it still had two full days of rest, and it would be fine.  I took it easy with rest until Sunday- race day. I could barely sleep the night before, but managed to get a few hours in, until my alarm woke me up at 4:30AM.  Today was the day I had been working for, for four years- I would know in a few hours, if I could do this!

I arrived at the race at 6:15AM- an hour before race time.  I had to park a mile away and walked in.  It was about 45 degrees out- much warmer than I had thought it would be.  I had brought my warmer running jacket, because it had lots of pockets to hold all my race stuff, but realized it would be way to warm to wear.  So I was mentally trying to figure out if my running shirt and running capris would hold my 2 GU fuel packets, a packet of sport jelly beans, tissues, and lip balm.  I figured I would just have to make them fit in my two pockets.  The walk was a good warm up and I was happy I had no shin pain whatsoever.

The race site was already buzzing and energetic.  The sun was coming up.  I saw lots of people together, and a lot of solo runners as well- young and old- it was nice to see such a variety of runners. I drank a little water, ate a small bagel, and figured out where the bag check was. I warmed up and stretched for about half an hour. I took one of the GU energy packs.  I had to walk back to the starting corrals, and my friend texted me- he was in a different starting corral than I, but we wished each other well.  I took off the last of my warm clothes, checked my bag, and headed to my starting corral.

By now the sun was up, and the first wave of runners were off.  I was in starting group 9, and I think there were are 16 or 17  starting waves. It was so crowded, I couldn’t make it into the corral, with the crowd on the street, so I just crawled through an opening, and waited. I actually had no nerves- no butterflies.  I was concentrating on not starting too fast.  Much easier said than done.  I started getting some adrenaline as our group started walking towards the starting line.  I was here, really here.  It hit me. I was really, really, about to start off on my 13.1 mile dream.  This wasn’t a 5K, or a fast 3K.  13 miles- it was going to be long- it would probably be painful at some point, but I got tears in my eyes.  I was here for ME.  This was 100% me- no one else. If I could do this- I could do anything.

“5-4-3-2-1!”  I hit the start on my Garmin and ran over the starting line.  My only thought was not to go too fast.  Meanwhile, hundreds of people were blowing by me.  I felt a little wimpy when the 50 and 60-year old runners were passing me, but it quickly passed. I knew what I was doing. I wasn’t running for anyone else- just for me.  I was going to run my race- all 13.1 miles, exactly as I had planned.

I settled into a nice pace for the first mile, despite hundreds of people passing me.  I smiled and was thankful this wasn’t my first rodeo. I knew some of the people were running way too fast. It made me keep looking at my Garmin though, and I was nervous. I was running a consistent 11:30 pace.  That was too fast. I had to slow down.  In training I was running 12 and 13 minute miles.  I wanted to run at least 12 minute miles for several of the first miles.

Miles 1 and 2: The first two miles were easy for me.  I was trying to get on a 12 minute pace but couldn’t.  It felt too slow, and not how I wanted to run this day.  I was feeling very strong, not tired at all.  All the running I have done- whether it was a half mile run, or a 10 mile one, trained me for this.  I knew I could run consistently 11 something miles, and while I wanted to run smart, I certainly didn’t want to feel like I held back.  This was my race- my time- to run exactly how I wanted to.  I made the mental switch at about 2.5 miles. I was going to run by how I felt. I could always slow way down to 12 or 13 minute miles if I needed to.  I stopped looking at my Garmin, and just tuned into my breathing, and pacing.

Mile 3: I hit the 5K mark, 3.10 miles, at 35 minutes. It felt perfect.  I had 10 miles to go, and I wasn’t tired at all.  I noticed I started passing people that had blown by me in the first few miles.

Miles 4 and 5: I just ran. There were some hills, no big deal.  My treadmill hills had been longer than these. The crowds cheering on the streets were awesome. I saw lots of signs, smiling and waving people. One man had a little baby strapped to his chest, holding a sign that said, “Becky, you are my hero.” It was so sweet- it just made me smile.

I slowed down a lot going through the water stations- I didn’t want to spill water on me, and I figured slowing down that extra little bit during the stations, might help me in the end. I actually had to use the restroom quick, but every time I passed one, there were such long lines. I didn’t want to stop, get out of sync, so I just pushed it out of my mind, and kept running.

Mile 6: I hit the 10K mark, 6.2 miles, at 1:10, and I had seen I just had a 10:58 mile, and I was feeling fine. I actually teared up at the 10K mark, because this was the longest distance in a race I had ever ran.  Lots of 5K’s,a 5 mile race, a 9K, but I have actually never ran a 10K race distance before.  I was starting to feel a little tired half way into this mile. I had planned to refuel with a GU energy, and did so at the half way mark. I started to feel a little pain in my shin, but I told myself to push past it- it was temporary, and I didn’t notice it anymore for the entire race.

Mile 7: I was starting to get tired, but I think at the end of it some of the energy pack kicked in. I had taken some of the sport jelly beans, as well. I had been taking water and Gatorade at the stations, so I figured I was doing all I could to make sure my body had enough energy and was hydrated. But, I was really having to pee- the lines were just still too long, and I was running so well, I didn’t want to stop- even for 5 minutes, and risk not being able to get back in sync.

Mile 8: I felt good. This was what I had run just 6 days earlier and still felt like I had a lot more I could do.  It was only 5 more miles. I was loving this run- I didn’t want to think too much ahead, but I was starting to think this was shaping up to be one of the most enjoyable runs I have ever had.

Mile 9: My “slow” start started to pay off.  I was passing a lot of people. I was still running to how I was feeling, but felt like I was slowing down.  Plus it was about a half mile stretch of consistently uphill. I looked at my Garmin and it didn’t look like it was running correctly.  I pushed stop and start on it, quickly, and then realized it was running.  But I had gotten the lap time off. But I was running 11/12 mile pace.  At the end of mile 9, I just felt my body take over.  I felt like I had just started running, and ran faster. There was no pain- my elbow didn’t even hurt. I was starting to run more assertively.  Everything was in sync.

Mile 10: I arrived at mile 10 at 1:56.  It hit me I only had a 5K left to do- 3.10 miles, and I knew I could run that!  I started to tear up, but made myself stop. I was running the strongest I had yet, and I didn’t want tears to mess it up.  I realized no matter what- I was going to finish, and I was on pace to finish far faster than I had ever let myself think I could.  I was running in the high 10 low 11 minute miles, and it was getting towards the end.  I reminded myself not to push it too much.  I wanted to finish strong.

Mile 11: Someone threw a very long (or so it seemed) hill in there. It was tough.  It slowed me down.  But, I noticed I was the person doing the passing.  Not one person passed me uphill.  I wasn’t competing against anyone else, but it made me feel strong, and I realized I AM strong.  I finished the hill a little tired, but not beaten or worn out, and felt 100% in control- this was my race, I was having the perfect run, and it wasn’t over yet.

Mile 12: I started running faster, and I was smiling.  This is what I had worked 4 years for.  I heard people cheering. I heard people say, “look at her running so fast, how is she doing that?” I think they were talking about me, because everyone I was running by was pretty much walking, or running very slowly. I was picking up the pace! I was confident I had run smart.  I may not have had months to train, but I know how I run, and in this mile, I was running with my heart and my spirit.  I had this, and I wasn’t going to be walking to the finish line.  Hell no! I was going to dig deep and bring everything I had to the last mile.

Mile 13: I told myself to just go, and enjoy- this was it! The last mile, was the single most, empowering, exciting and great thing I have ever done just for myself!  All my obstacles, all my health issues, all my difficulties in life, all my fears, all my doubts- for this small sliver of time, had disappeared.  I was this close to doing the impossible for me. From lying in a hospital bed with my neck sliced open with an organ gone from, having cancer in my cells, to taking radioactive drugs to kill cancer, to having parts of my body burned off to prevent cancer, from losing my mom, to being cancer free to having been in a cast on my arm just weeks before, from losing one of the most important relationships to me weeks before, to knowing I’m not perfect, but I don’t give up. When most people would quit- I don’t. I am strong when I am meant to be weak.

For this last mile, I had extra to give, and I knew it would be the fastest I ran, in the final mile of a half marathon. It all came together- as much as my mind, body, and spirit, had been distraught in the months before, they were strong all working together, as one. All the interval training I have ever done, all the sprints, all the running came to the surface, and I had no more thoughts. I just ran. I was free.  I held nothing back.  I ran that last mile (it helped it was downhill!) like I was running for the gold in the Olympics, because for me it was- it was my gold medal to my dream.

Mile 13.1: I saw the finish line. I saw myself passing person after person, I heard the crowd just cheering, and I knew I had done it.  I crossed the finish line, and in that moment my dream for “someday” wasn’t a dream anymore. It was reality.  It was today, in that moment.  Nothing held back, no regrets. I had just run the race of my life. I had ran 100% from my heart, and I could never ask for anything more. I got my dream- I got my moment of something wonderful!

I remembered to hit stop on my Garmin, and saw I had just run the last third of the mile at an 8:51 pace.  My final time was 2:29.  I had been hoping for 2:45, and the time was just the icing on the cake.  My final mile had been my fastest: 10:21. My Garmin said I ran 13.31 miles, but official race says 13.10, but our times were the same.

I got wrapped in a heat blanket, drank some chocolate milk, given a smoothie, and just let it soak in.  More thoughts and feelings hit me- I cried a little.  This- the race- this is what it is all about. Falling down and getting back up, over, and over, and over, no matter how many times.  If you want to finish, you have to start.  Giving your best, after life hands you its worst.  I have failed at many things in life, I have gotten very sick in life, I have made huge mistakes in life, I have regrets, I wish I could have done many things differently, but all these things- just like all the miles added up to get me to the finish line, these mistakes, imperfections, these less than ideal situations in life, make me who I am.  Without these, I doubt I ever would have run one mile, let alone 13.1.

Life takes its toll, but running teaches me, despite my imperfections, my mind, body, and spirit do work together.  It teaches me my failures and fears will NEVER be stronger than my determination and spirit. And in that last mile it taught me, if you are lucky, follow your dreams, sometimes your fears and failures will intersect with your dreams and successes and make it all worthwhile- more than you can possibly imagine!

Thank you to all my friends, family, and everyone who has supported, and believed in me and my running over the years. I can’t possibly thank everyone individually, but I need to mention some specific people, who if not for them, I would never have been able to achieve my health and my running dreams.

To my sons, Ryan and Cole: Thank You!!  You guys are my biggest fans, and my biggest helpers.  I love you both with all my heart.  If you were not so awesome and flexible to work Mom’s running in with your play schedules, I would have never had enough time to devote to running. You guys helped Mom run her half marathon!!

To Mara, Jeff, Vanessa, Kat, and my dad:  My family, I know you are always there when I need you, and thank you for always believing in me.

To Amy: I could tell you I was running to the moon, and you’d support me.  From cancer help, to running encouragement- thank you for being a true friend, in every sense of the word.  To Aaron: Thank you for talking me into it.  To Sarah: Thank you for pushing me into it, and To Debra: Thank you for helping me when I had cancer, and for your always positive attitude!

To all the cancer patients who write me every day:  I know how lonely, discouraging, and frightening cancer is.  Don’t give up, and continue to fight. When you are able, pursue your dreams. It isn’t easy, but it is worth it.  Envision your dreams on your hard days.  Take it one day at a time, and you will get there.  Focus on what you do have- not what this disease takes- and draw your strength from your loved ones and friends who are fighting along with you.

To John:  Thank you for providing your support to me, and to my dream. You’ve been there from the beginning, starting with the first run I ever took. Your advice over the years has helped me become the best runner I can, and your encouragement has assisted me in following my dream- more than you know.

Mile Splits

1-11:24  2-11:10  3-11:38  4-11:03  5-11:31  6-10:58  7-11:30  8-11:41  9-12:18  10-11:19  11-10:56  12-11:07  13- 10:21  .31-2:45

Finishing Time: 2:29

Average Pace: 11:15

marathon

13.1 Miles! I’m an official half marathoner, with my medal! 10/20/13

Categories
Activities Cancer Mothering Running

First Half Marathon: 4 Years in the Making- Part 1

On Sunday October 20, 2013 in Denver, I attempted a dream I have had for four years- to run a half marathon.  No one ever (well hardly ever anyone),  just gets up one day, shows up at the start, and decides to run a half marathon without a story.  This is mine.

I started running 4 years ago, in September 2009- just weeks after I finished my thyroid cancer treatments. The surgery I had to have, the recovery, the radioactive iodine, and the fact I had no thyroid hormone for 3 months, left me feeling like an invalid, and there were many days I could not get out of bed.  I remember one morning, after having moved in with my dad and step-mom, temporarily because I was unable to care for myself and my young boys round the clock, my dad and step-mom were at work.  I was sitting on the porch swing, watching the boys play in the yard.  I saw it was 10AM, and knew I had better start making them lunch.  I had to stop midway, walking up their 6 stairs to the kitchen, and it took me 2.5 HOURS to walk about 10 steps from the porch, up the stairs, to the kitchen, and make 2 sandwiches.

When all my treatment and recovery were finished, and I finally started to get the Synthroid (synthetic thyroid hormone) that my body had been deprived of for 3 months, despite the doctors telling me I may never feel “normal” again, I started to feel instantly better.  I was grateful I didn’t feel like I was 120-years old anymore, I was starting to get energy back.  I had always wanted to run in a race, and the 5K Race for the Cure was in a few weeks.  I decided to try running in this, and even if I couldn’t run the entire way, I knew I could walk it, but it would be a victory, just to be able to be there, and move.  Something I had taken for granted until I had cancer.

Most my readers know the story- I was able to finish the 5K race, running, and I was hooked.  I have kept running since then- at times more intensely and seriously.  In July 2010 I entered my first competitive race, for a 3K, and came in second for my age group.  The next year at the same Race for the Cure, I took 12 minutes off  my 5K time from just a year ago- from 36 min. to 24 minutes- those were definitely highlights and goals of my running, but it was not my dream.

Ever since those first steps I took running, I thought of those who couldn’t run, & appreciated how lucky I was.  I dreamed- “someday” if I trained hard enough, worked hard enough, ran fast enough, was healthy enough- “someday” I would try to run a half marathon. In my mind, that would be the ultimate achievement from where I had started to where I would end up.  My physical condition when I started running- to be able to even sign up for a half marathon- might as well have been climbing Mount Everest.  It was really a dream I never thought I would be able to accomplish, but could hope for, if all the other conditions in my life were ideal.

In those 4 years, I’ve signed up for a few half marathons, but always had circumstances arise, where I was not able to train properly for them.  One half marathon was weeks after my mom passed away, and I was just not in an emotional place to be able to do it.  I’ve gotten busy- kids, work, school, relationship, family, friends, my health and in 2011 I had yet another cancer scare.  Over the years, I have never stopped running, but somewhere along the way, I let my dream slip to the background.  Perhaps because deep down, I never really believed I could do it.  Why do something and fail?  The half marathon hasn’t been my focus in a long time, but it was always in the back of my mind- a little part of me never let it completely slip away.

In May, a friend said he was going to try to run his first marathon in October, and encouraged me to give it a shot as well. I decided it was time to make this my goal again, and get serious about it. I signed up, with new found enthusiasm.  Weeks later, I developed a nasty side shin splint that left me unable to run.  By the beginning of August, despite having rested and not having ran for weeks, it was still there.  It was time to decide- I had to train if I was going to run this, but I decided to shelf my dream yet again- rather than risk developing a more serious injury by stressing my shins.

Just days after this, in the beginning of August, I had a bad bicycle crash, and broke and dislocated my elbow. I had to have surgery, and was unable to bend my elbow, or use my arm for weeks.  It was devastating to me. It left me very immobile and in a lot of ways it left me unable to perform very basic functions- from personal grooming to taking basic care of my kids, like I want to.  It was a very painful injury. I’ve never had chronic pain, but I did for weeks with this injury.   I felt helpless, alone, and very much like I did when I was sick with cancer.  When you live by yourself, you don’t realize all the things- until you can’t- you must do for yourself and your children. When suddenly, I could not do these things, it left me feeling very vulnerable, and weak.  When I saw my children step up and help me with things I should have been doing for them as their parent, it made me feel like I could not even be their mother properly. It was everything I could do, to just go to work for the day.  I had nothing left when I got home. Combined with the chronic pain, unable to live my life like I wanted, and unable to exercise or move without constant pain, – this was very demoralizing and depressing. It really was my worse fears realized.  My independence, my ability to care for my children, and my mobility were gone and I was scared.  I felt like I was living in a blanket of heavy fog, only seeing the fog- in front of me.  I could not have known how much this was affecting me at the time, but all of these things contributed to very difficult months, on every level- physically, emotionally, and mentally.

As I started physical therapy, I started to work really hard on the exercises the physical therapists were giving me. They assured me if I did these every day, my elbow would start to get better.  They were right, and within a week, finally some of the pain subsided, and I started to feel more optimistic I would be able to use my arm again. I felt like I was finally coming out of the fog a bit.  I started going to my gym and just riding the stationary bike for 3-5 miles. I could protect my elbow, and not have a lot of pain while doing this.  When the physical therapist told me to start working on holding my arm down, I figured running would be good.  I started running a half a mile, three quarters of a mile, a mile, etc. My arm felt good when I ran, and I felt my spirits rising as well when I ran.  Soon I was up to running 5 miles a week.

A lot of these runs were at night on a treadmill, but I was happy I could at least run again.  As I ran those mindless miles on the treadmill, the half marathon I had signed up for, which was weeks away now, kept creeping back in my mind. Could I do it? The doubts crept in.  Did I dare try? What happened if I tried and failed? No way was I even near the level of being able to run a half marathon, and I still had a broken elbow I was recovering from…was I crazy?

But my legs felt strong from the stationary bike riding, the running I had been able to do, and in the 2 months my elbow had been broken, my shin splint was gone, (there always is a silver lining). One night as these doubts were running through my mind, I decided to turn them off.  I turned the incline up higher on the treadmill, to simulate hills instead.  If I was considering this, I had better train 10 times harder than the race course, in the days I had left.

Ten days before the marathon, I told a client of mine from work, who is also very exercise oriented, I was thinking about actually running the half marathon.  She didn’t hesitate- she didn’t tell me all the reasons why I couldn’t or shouldn’t do this- she just told me I could do it.  And hearing that she thought I could- gave me the push I needed.  When I started telling friends and family I was going to run- no one told me I couldn’t or shouldn’t- and I realized all the resistance and fears were mine, and mine alone.  I saw and experienced people believing in me, and that in turn helped me believe in myself.

I worked out on the treadmill at night when the boys were with their dad, my half marathon 10-day training plan.  I ran the treadmill at a 3 to 4% incline at 12-13 minute miles.  I knew this was harder than the course, but I had to train hard.  I knew I had to pace myself during the race, or I would never be able to go 13 miles.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time left before the race to even try to run 13 miles, without risking the strength and endurance I had built up. But one thing I have learned from running is you are always stronger than you think you are. You can always do more, if you let your mind believe it.

Six days before the race, I put my training to the test and ran 8 miles.  I ran the first half very slowly and conservatively, and finished the second half, running up hills, at a faster pace.  I felt like I could have kept running, and felt very optimistic, I had another 5 miles in me for race day.  It didn’t matter how fast I went- only that I finished.  I felt ready.  I remembered how far I had come from those days as a cancer patient- unable to get out of bed.  I remembered everyone who couldn’t run, and was grateful that I could. I wasn’t afraid anymore. Even though I wasn’t the healthiest I could be. Even though I didn’t have the ideal training. Even though I wouldn’t be able to run as fast as I had wanted.  Even though the previous month had been devastating emotionally.  But I wasn’t going to use these excuses to put my dream on hold again.

Life life, running is seldom perfect. If you never take that first step forward, nothing will ever happen.  Finish or not- I was going to give this everything I had, and if I didn’t finish, at least I tried. Even I couldn’t run the entire 13 miles, or cross the finish line, I would have at the very least, given my dream a chance.

(I want to write this in detail, so will be breaking the post up.  Part 2 coming next!)

Categories
Activities Health Running

My Path Back to Running

“To get to the finish line, you’ll have to try lots of different paths.”
– Amby Burfoot

My shin pain has finally healed, but it hasn’t been easy or quick. Despite resting for most of November, I still had shin pain.  I was pretty much sick with bronchitis for most of the month of December, and I thought after a few weeks of rest, the shin pain would be gone.  But the opposite was happening.

The more I rested, the pain would go away for a day, but as soon as I went on a walk or a light jog the pain would return.  I have read so many articles on shin splints, shin pain, etc., I am like a walking encyclopedia on the subject now.   I tried countless stretches and different running techniques trying to heal them.  While some of these things helped, nothing really “cured” them for good or stopped the pain completely. 

My friend, Alison, recommended a foam roller to me in November, but I had been too busy to get around to ordering one.  I finally did a few weeks ago, and experienced pain using it on my shins that brings tears to my eyes, just thinking about it now. (She warned me it was going to hurt at first!)  But after using it for about five minutes (that was all I could stand), I noticed the deep muscle pain I had around my shins seemed a lot better.  The next morning the pain was almost gone.  That had been the most relief I had experienced up to that point.  

Another friend suggested a walking / light running plan after the shin pain had stopped, and I credit that plan with not only keeping me in the game so to speak, but helping me improve.  I was able to walk and run while I healed, and was doing the 5K distance faster than I had been able to run it previously.  It was really amazing to see that my body was capable of performing like that, but it hardly felt like any work at all.

About two weeks ago, after going for a run on my lunch hour, I had immediate shin pain- again.  I was frustrated why the pain seemed to be gone at times, only to return at other times.  I kept using the foam roller, and worked up to using it for 15 minutes at a time, and the pain was no longer deep- but just more on the surface.  After I was done with the roller, there was no pain at all in my shins.   I started to wonder if it had something to do more with my muscles being weak in my shins.

I came across a very short video a few days later, that has no medical backing whatsoever, but what the person was saying, seemed like it made sense.  They said shin splints and pain in the shins is simply a muscle imbalance.  In short, the shin muscles are not as strong as the calf muscles. They suggested a very simple stretch for five minutes a day, which would strengthen the shin muscles. I figured trying it once couldn’t hurt anything.

Like the foam roller, the stretch hurt!  I was hitting my pillow the last few minutes, but when I was done, there was no pain at all!  Not even light pain.  I was amazed.  I wondered if it was a fluke, but the next day my shins felt wonderful.  I tried the stretch again, and it didn’t hurt quite as bad, and I had the same results. Not only was the pain gone, it wasn’t coming back.  This was right around Christmas, and I have been doing the stretch every other day or so, and I haven’t had any shin pain at all!  Sometimes after running the muscles are tight around my shins, but a few minutes with the foam roller works the tightness out.   I know not everything works for everybody, but this simple stretch, along with the foam roller, really helped relieve my shin pain. 

I also started working with some visualization techniques and started doing more mental preparation.  I realized that I could be in the best physical shape, but if my outlook and thoughts weren’t “in shape,” too, my physical condition will only get me so far.  So much of running success is connected to my thoughts, as I am learning. 

After this work for the last two months, I have decided I am ready to try another 5K race and it is tomorrow.  Alison is going to run in it as well!  It is going to be cold.  It just snowed here, and there is likely to be ice and snow, but I’ve been running for the last few weeks in these conditions.  Yak Trax had been suggested to me several times, and I got a pair last week.  They work awesome on the snow and ice! 

I went on a pre-race run the other day, with the path almost completely covered in snow and ice- most of it wasn’t even plowed or shoveled.  It was impossible to get any kind of pacing down, because it was so uneven and rough.  I am pretty certain the actual race course won’t be this bad, because it is through a town, where most of the streets will at least be paved.  My time for the 5K distance on this run was 29:16. Other than the last 5K race I did this was my second best time ever! 

I have rested, I have rebuilt, and I found my path back.  Now it is time to put it all together and run!  

And I couldn’t be happier.

Categories
Family & Friends Running

Rest and Rebuild

I made a decision on whether I am going to continue running or not.

I went on a 5K walk last Tuesday and thought.  Up to that point, I really did not know how to get back to where I had been, and I felt like my fitness level was slipping.  I had not had a positive run in almost a month.  I felt it slipping through my fingers, but couldn’t stop it.  I was missing something, but didn’t know what.

I appreciated the comments left on the blog post, and the encouraging  e-mails readers sent me.  When I read one though, it clicked because I realized I had no plan, no course of action, and no structure to what I have been doing.

The advice I had been reading in various articles all say to let shin splints heal, and the “get back out there.”  It doesn’t say how to do that.  What do you do in the meantime?  How do you keep your fitness level up?  How do you keep your breathing and pacing?  How do “get back out there” again, without getting injured?

Not knowing how to do this was causing me so much frustration and was causing me to lose confidence.  After I read a message from my friend, who gave me some great ideas on how to actually “get back out there,” I felt excited again.  I felt like I finally had a plan and some ideas that would work.

One of the suggestions was I walk.  I walk fast while my shins are healing and I can work on breathing and pacing at the same time.  I decided to try walking the 5K distance. 

While I was walking, things came together.  I found a great stride, and I found my breathing and pacing working together again.  One of the things my friend said was I had to “rest and rebuild.”  I thought about that while I was walking in the second mile. 

I knew deep down, rest and rebuild was what I had to do, but I was afraid.  I was afraid while I was resting I would slip so far back, there wouldn’t be much left to rebuild with.  

In the third mile, I realized my breathing was heavy.  Walking fast is work and it is fitness.  I also had no shin pain and no cramps.  I knew then I could rebuild and comeback.  The fear was gone.  I checked my time when I was finished and I walked the 3.2 miles in 39 minutes.  This was faster than I had been able to run this distance when I was starting out.

On Saturday, I went for another 5K walk, before arctic weather moved in.  It had snowed and there was a lot of ice on the sidewalks.  I am getting over bronchitis, so I had to be careful and breathe differently. 

I found my pacing and stride immediately.  It felt like I was almost running, but I wasn’t.  I had no shin pain, and no cramps.  I forgot about time, and running, and just had fun and enjoyed my walk.  I hadn’t felt that good- that confident, in a month. 

After the walk, I checked my time, and I had done the 5K distance in 35 minutes.  Four minutes faster than on Tuesday, and faster than my finishing time in my first 5K running race.

I have to continue to rest and rebuild, which is hard- I’m going to have more challenges.  But as my friend pointed out, and as I have begun to discover, it is the foundation where you heal, learn, and gain confidence.   

I don’t know how long it will take before I can start running again. But I’m not going to give it up.  Rest and rebuild isn’t the end, but the begining.

Categories
Health Me Running

Sidelined by Shin Splints-Maybe for Good

A few days after the 5K race last month, my shins hurt a lot and I knew I had shin splints.  The only thing I could do was rest them, which meant not running.  

I sat out for nine days, and I hated it.  I felt like every day I missed running, all the momentum I had gained in the last three months was slipping away.  I tried to be proactive, and I read up on shin splints so I would learn how to treat them, and also how to prevent getting them again.  I think adding sprints to the end of my running is what caused me to get them in the first place.  I increased the speed that I ran these too quickly.

I also learned I wasn’t stretching my calves as well I could have, so I learned some deeper calf muscle stretches, and some other stretches just for the shins.  My two Uncle Mike’s, both former marathon runners, suggested that I start landing on my heel more, versus the front of my foot.  The Chi Running method also incorporates this- and teaches you to put more of your weight in the middle of your foot.

After taking nine days off, and not feeling shin pain, I set out last Tuesday to run again.  I only ran two miles to take it slow.  At first I didn’t feel any pain, but the last quarter mile I started to feel the slightest pain.  Two hours later, my shins hurt again.  Obviously they weren’t healed.  I was bummed, but several people told me, and I read that if you keep running while you have shin splints, it can lead to further damage and even surgery.  I was encouraged that even though I only ran 2 miles, I ran those at an eight minute pace. 

The next few days, my shins started to feel better, but I had come down with a bad cold so I wasn’t going to run in the colder weather while I was sick.  On Saturday, I had no shin pain whatsoever, and my cold was getting better.  I decided to try out the 3.2 miles for a 5K distance, but go very slowly, incorporating the new running methods I have read about.

I started out well- there was no pain at all.  But I noticed right away landing on my foot differently, changed the pacing I was used to.  This caused my breathing to be off, and as a result, I got a terrible pain in my side.  Just like when I first started running!  I realized I was going to have to find my pacing and breathing all over again!   I decided to concentrate on that, and completing the 5K distance for the rest of the run. 

When I was about half-way through, I got a shooting cramp in my thigh.  That had never happened before to me at all, and I think it was from the new way I was landing.  I never did find my breathing and pacing rhythm, and at the end of the run, I realized I forgot to time myself.  About the only success I had was there was no shin pain, and I was able to run the 5K distance with a cramp in my side and thigh.  Not exactly what I was hoping for.

If I decide to keep running, I am going to have to start out slowly again, and build back up to where I was.  I have to start all over again!  I wanted to enter a 5K race this month, but there is no way I am ready for that right now.  I am mad at myself that I got shin splints to begin with- I should have been more careful.  It seems like it is a fine line between pushing yourself to do better, while at the same time not pushing so much that you end up injured.  

I admit after that horrible run on Saturday, I was frustrated and disappointed beyond belief!  I have been thinking about just giving it up.  I wonder if I really have it in me to start from square one again?  I thought about asking a few people that have been really supportive of my running, what they think I should do, but I know I have to make this decision for myself.  It would be easier to not run, and just wait until the weather warmed up and I could start riding my bike again.  After all, I only started out running to run one race, and I accomplished that and more. 

I have no shin pain, and in theory I could start again from square one.  Tuesday is a day I normally run, but I haven’t decided if I am going to start again today.  Part of me tells me not to quit- that I can do this, and another part tells me I’ve done what I set out to do.  Is that enough for me?   Will I always wonder what else I could have accomplished if I stop running now?  Is it worth it to risk more injuries and all the hard work again?

When I can answer these questions, I will have a decision.