I can’t believe I haven’t run outside until yesterday. That’s how much I don’t mind the treadmill. That’s how cloudy, cool, and rainy Washington weather is. . . Treadmill is awesome for lazy people (me) and here’s why: It leaves no excuses (bad weather, not wanting to get dressed, no clean laundry, no matching outfit ready, not wanting to walk/drive to running spot, parking issues, other people crowding out your running spot, what if I have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the run?, I’m hungry, I want to do ____ really early). I’m sneaky like that, and if I don’t roll out of bed and get straight to my run–and I mean directly–I can come up with a billion and one reasons I can’t do it.
But the track is fun! I get to be in the sun, propel myself instead of striding to stay in place, the goals are all different, and the distances seem at the same time much shorter, but longer. Does anyone else know what I mean about that? Like, the mile flies by on the track, but a 200m seems waaaaay longer.
Anyway, I have a point, to this post other then to reiterate what I’ve previously written about: I have real bad shin splint. Yes, I meant to omit the plural–it’s just my left leg. And I know when you pose a question, the readers/potential answerers of the question need a litany of info.
The facts and Stats:
-I am a 30 year old female in moderately good shape.
-I have managed to drink about 8 glasses on water daily for the last 5-6 weeks.
-I have been running on my 1980’s-style treadmill for the last 155 days in a row. Without any incident whatsoever.
-I also occasionally (every other to twice weekly?) work out to Kelly Coffey-Meyer with 5 lb weights and frequently walk around town for 1-7 miles (without incident/pain).
-I never stretch prior to treadmilling. No problems.
-On the treadmill I alternate between endurance (about 6-7 speed for a mile), HIIT 5:9, strength (lunges, grapevine, side-shuffle), and 30-20-10s of about 6-7.5-9.5 speed. I mess about with the incline daily as I run and always cool down by descending from incline of 15 to 0 every minute at a speed of 3-3.5.
-My shoes are too old (2008?). But they are good brand, comfortably fitting, and I alternate between 2 pairs. I have used these without trouble on all 5 months of my treadmill mile-3 mile workouts. Getting a pair of $30 clearance sneakers is not a viable option right now–custom fitted fancy running shoes may not be an option until I am established in some sort of big-girl career (long, long term).
-Ummm, let’s see, my running surface is a super nice all weather track at the community college. I run counter-clockwise (I think that’s the correct term?) as you would at a track meet.
-At my first time on the track, I ran a warm-up mile at home on the treadmill first. At the track it was 54 F (substantially colder then the 65 F inside my apt–I will wear pants and beanie next time) and I ran an 8.5 min mile. Which is about on par with my best treadmill miles, and slightly faster then my average treadmill mile times of 9-ish minutes. Then, I walked 200 m, sprinted 200 m for another mile, with a total for 800 m (half mile) of sprints.
-Going to the doctor/paid professional is out of the question.
What else might someone ask before diagnosing me online? I think I covered it, but something will probably come up. . .
Anyway, my shin splint on my upper left shin, directly to the left of the bone hurts! I guess on the pain scale it’s about a 3–more then a nuisance, but not to the point I’m limping or anything. The aggravated shin came into my mind (but didn’t prevent a brisk pace) during a normal 4.6 mile walk around town today. It also hurts to kneel, and just is tender. Like a trigger point, bruise, or shin splint. Why? And how can I prevent it?
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