Shin Pain

[Deleted User]

Hi all,
I'm doing my first 10K this Sunday and have been road-running with no injury problems whatsoever. Today, I decided to go down the gym for a work-out and whilst there, did a couple of miles on the treadmill. BIG MISTAKE! I felt fine afterwards, however, as the day has wore on, my right shin is killing me. I can walk ok, but the pain is all down the front of my shin (I've had this before when I used to run solely on running machines!). Anyway, I would really welcome any advice as to the best course of action to take - I've rested it all evening, but it's actually getting worse..oh dear!!! Also, while on this subject.. my race is at 11am.. what would be the best thing to eat for breakfast? I usually just have cereal in the morning. Thanks very much!
Michelle x

SS - The Last Unicorn

First off - you will be really really disappointed if you do the run on Sunday and do it badly because you hurt. Worse, you risk doing yourself a more permanent injury which will take much longer to recover from than if you pull out now. Hard decision...which only you can make - I've pulled out of a race recently and don't regret it - but I've also done training runs when I shouldn't have - and also haven't regretted them either !!!

If you do go ahead...
If you've got a sympathetic doctor....get down there tomorrow am first thing and get a prescription for Volterol and apply it several times tomorrow and Sunday before you race. It's really short on time - but took me 2.5 days for it to completely deaden my shins for the London Marathon but they were beautifully numb on the day! If you can't get to the doctors use Ibuprofen gel - and ice etc

Re breakfast
I've just discovered those 'Baker Boy chocolate muffins - they're really light - full of carb and not fibre and don't lie heavy in your stomach. I can't eat protein before a run but the official wisdom is something yucky like scrambled eggs on toast. However its a bit late to start experimenting - so really I'd stick with what you're used to - ie the cereal for now and experiment more in the future before a morning training run so that you can find out what suits you.

Hope you can Enjoy Sunday

drew

Michelle, the only thing I can suggest is to ice it for about 20 minutes a session, as often as you can. Ibuprofen can also help in this situation. Hopefully it will be ok for Sunday. I used to get the same problem and the pain was sometimes unbearable. Sometimes you've just got to take a bit of a rest and grin and bear it. However if it gets too painful - STOP. You don't want to get a stress fracture!

Should be OK for a 10k.

As for breakfast. Due to the distance I would tend to have your normal breakfast, maybe with some extra toast or similar at around about 8 am. Also, try to drink lots of water on Saturday and up to 8 am, but nothing until maybe 10 minutes before the start, otherwise you may have problems with toilet stops. Dehydration shouldn't be a problem unless it's really hot.

Good luck on Sunday.

[Deleted User]

SS & Drew,
Thanks very much for your advice. I'm staying in all day today and resting.. I will definitely go with the ice pack on the leg and ibuprofen gel! You're right about not experimenting with new breakfasts at this late stage!! (I should have thought about this before shouldn't I..!!). I'll stick to the cereal with maybe some toast as you suggested Drew.. Thanks once again both of you and I'll let you know how it all goes.
Michelle x

[Deleted User]

Hi all,
Just to let you know, I've just got back home from my first 10K race, which I completed with no problems at all from my shin!! The rest/ice/ibuprofen gel certainly sorted me out! I finished in 54.40 which I'm quite pleased about - and I didn't stop once!! Next 10k is 6th October at Southend, so I hope to beat my time there!
Michelle x

SS - The Last Unicorn

WELL DONE !!
Really pleased for you!

drew

Great news Michelle. Just a thought. When I was experiencing similar problems with the treadmill (possibly from overstriding) I increased the incline to about 3% or more. Did that for nearly 3 months. This meant that I had to run slower but I can now run on the treadmill without any problems at any incline.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for that Drew. I'll give that a go. I'm going away on Saturday, on a cruise - so I'll only be able to use the gym, as they don't allow running around the decks! So, I'll definitely give it a try!
Michelle x