Information is power?

Well, let me start out by admitting an act of stupidity: I chose to wear flip flops yesterday, and I greatly regretted it. I walked around with zero support for my feet, and my shins paid the price. I had the left one wrapped in the evening.

But, I wore tennis shoes today, and things were much better. Tonight, I walked a mile to the lakefront, ran five miles, and walked back.

So far, no shin pain. Some aching in my upper legs, but I think that's just my body readjusting to running. What's more, I did the 5 miles in 53:52 -- less than an 11 minute pace. I'm pleased with that.

I did some more research today, too. I've been really frustrated because every site seems to say the same thing about shin splints: They are caused by overuse or excessive running on hard surfaces, and all you can really do is ice them and rest. All that is true, I'm sure, but not very helpful. But today, I found a really helpful site that explains what exactly occurs physically when you get a shin splint. Basically, tight calf muscles cause shin muscles to work harder, putting strain on them. And this site also gave a great, detailed list of stretches to do before and after running to help loosen calf muscles. This helps to prevent further irritation of existing shin splits and also helps to prevent developing new ones.

So, I stretched extensively both before and after running today. It seems to have helped.

And as an added bonus, this site I read also described another pain I have been feeling -- a dull ache in the middle of my calf. That, apparently, is a symptom of an overused soleus muscle, the muscle that connects the two heads of the large calf muscle. This pain is usually relieved by the same stretches as shin splints.

So, I think I may be on a good road. I understand my issues better now, and I am also more sure that I do not have any stress fractures.

My hopes for being ready for the half marathon are renewed. Just gotta keep running smart and stretching.