Marathon Weekly Update

The dreaded shin splints

I know I promised a post filled with all of the fabulous things I did in the past two week but I don't have much time this morning and I just have to complain a little.

I have self-diagnosed shin splints. It all started on Monday when I went out to do my cross training. I was at a conference in Las Vegas and thought I would slip down to the gym at the hotel to push around some weights. Much to my surprise they wanted $25 a day to use the gym - so I took to the strip (no, not in the hooker way). I walked from the Aladdin to the Mandalay Bay and back. Along the way I noticed that I had a sharp pain above my right ankle along the inside of my shin. And so, like a good girl, I iced.

The next day on my run the nagging pain was still there and so I iced some more. Tuesday night at my volleyball game my right hip began to ache. When I came home to ice I realized that I didn't have enough to cover all of the parts that needed attention. So, I sat on a bag of frozen peas while I used my remaining ice for my achilles and shin. When I told my co-worker Jeannie about it she laughed at me, stating that I was the only person she knew that ran out of ice for medical reasons and not a party.

Yesterday morning's run was a nightmare. I forced myself to run 2 miles, but it was so painful couldn't complete any more. I knew that this was more than just soreness so I searched the internet while I propped my leg up on my desk drawer for icing. Through my research of anatomical pictures of the lower leg I convinced myself that I was having problems with my Flexor Hallucis Longus or Flexor Digitorum Longus. As I delved further into my research I realized that couldn't possibly be the problem since I didn't have any of the typical symptoms.

On a whim I clicked on links for other lower leg injuries and there it was, staring back at me. The shin splint. As I read more it was clear to me that this was the problem I had encountered and I became more and more disheartened. First of all I wanted to have a "cool" injury, one that allowed me to use the term Flexor Hallucis Longus in as many sentences as possible. Secondly, I have the feeling that the shin splint is going to seriously hinder my training. I have to think about everything in a new way. On my non-running days I will have to switch to non-weight bearing excercises like biking or swimming (where am I going to find a pool?). I will be icing constantly and keeping my lower leg taped every day to help it heal even when I walking around school (so much for skirts).

I also realized that I probably needed to go and see my primary care doctor so she could refer me to a sports medicine clinic to help me through this training process. I don't want to rely soley on our school trainer Patti. The worst thing is that I don't know who my doctor is. I had to go to the woman in charge of benefits and to look up the name of the person I designated as my doctor at the beginning of the school year, whom I picked from a doctor search because she was a female GP whose office is mere blocks from my house.

And so the adventure continues.

posted by Heidi @ 8:04 AM