As of 11am this morning, my final run before Saturday's half marathon is in the books. Unfortunately, it was raining/snowing/sleeting (whatever the hell that weather was), which, as previously stated, I hate!
Thankfully, I had my standing Sunday morning run date with my training buddy. Otherwise, I would have either shortened the run considerably or not done it at all. We banged out an 8K in dreary conditions and had a negative split. We finished with a strong kick, uphill no less, and clocked in at 44:14. Not too shabby! Thank God for training buddies.
For me, it wasn't the greatest run and I had to take a walk break at 4K because my shin splints were bothering me (thanks to Bruce for putting up with the 1 minute walk break!). Which brings me to the topic for today: Injuries.
Some of the greatest frustrations about running are the injuries, aches and pains. Three months ago, my right lower leg was giving me considerable pain. It was even affecting my everyday walking. Off to physio I went. Acupuncture and Graston technique are my heroes, because after three treatments, everything was good to go. Amen!
Shortly thereafter, my left IT band became inflamed and was seriously compromising my ability to train. For those who have never suffered from this, the pain is like someone is stabbing you in the side of your knee with a screwdriver. I was worried about my next race (Surf City Half Marathon in sunny Huntington Beach, California) so I booked myself in for more physio. Again, after three painful Graston sessions and some acupuncture, I was good as new. My knee didn't bother me at all during the half and (touch wood) hasn't bothered me since.
Shin splints are an evil I deal with off and on throughout my training. I can't understand it. My training stays fairly consistent and I just hope for the best. Then, when they start acting up again, I slow it down, take time off and ice, ice, ice! One would think that after more than a year of committed running, this wouldn't affect me anymore. Such an annoyance!
So, with 5 days to go before the Hollywood Half Marathon, I will retire to my couch, elevate my legs and wrap some ice packs around my shins.
Happy trails, my fellow runners!
I don't particularly enjoy running, but I will run for cool race bling!! I'm a self-proclaimed finishers' medal gold-digger. Which means I only run for the finisher's medal I get at the end. So, if your race doesn't have a medal, I won't run your race. You don't really expect me to run 21.1km for nothing, do you?!
My Next Race
Sorry...have to ask...what is the Graston Technique? I get shin splints from ruck marching and am looking for anything that might help!
ReplyDeleteFrom Wikipedia: Graston Technique (GT) is a therapeutic method for diagnosing and treating disorders of the skeletal muscles and related connective tissue. The method employs a collection of six stainless steel tools of particular shape and size, which are used by practitioners to palpate patients' bodies in order to detect and resolve adhesions in the muscles and tendons.
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