Shin splints : what my chiropractor said

I went to the chiropractor for my back. And for my shin splints too. She's not an orthopedist, but I know if my hips are out of alignment it can make my knees hurt. I wanted to make sure this wasn't causing or aggravating my shin splints.

She remarked that my shins were really tight. And my quads too.

I told her my quads have been tight for three or so weeks now. (From Bodypump, I think).

I also told her my knees felt funny when I walk down stairs. (Ding, ding, ding).

Then she tested how high I could lift my legs while laying on my belly. (Same test an orthopedist did for my IT band issue years ago.) She test if my legs felt tight when she bent them a certain way. Then she tested my knees. She had me flex my knees while she poked them.

Basically, my tight quads (that I thought nothing about) have been wreaking havoc on my lower leg and knees. Because my quads are tight, so are my shins. And somehow my knees are tracking wrong due to a muscle imbalance. My outside quads are strong my my medial quad is weak, and that's causing knee issues. So she gave me some stretches for the medial quad and for my knee.

And I feel all sorts of messed up.

The good news is my shins are feeling better.  I've been resting and making sure to up my calcium. They feel almost good enough to run on. I'd like to give it a few more days. (Maybe 10 days off running? Honestly, I'm fine with losing some speed. I don't have any planned races.)

I'm not sure how I feel about my knee and running.

My knee did hurt worse after getting adjusted. I'd felt a twinges before I went in, so it was a problem waiting to happen. It felt better the next morning, so nothing to worry about.

I've taken a whole week off running and I think I'll take a few more days and then try some miles.

Week off running

Ozzy approves of naps and running less

Well, it's been a good few months of upping my miles, but I'm taking the next week off running. I've got the beginnings of shin splints so I want to see if a week off helps.

I've been worried about them for a few weeks.

I got the first pain a month ago. It was the first week I ran 30 miles—and probably too many miles on road. So I've been running more trail miles and decreasing my miles. It's not horribly painful yet, but I don't want it to get worse, so time off. I won't lose fitness in a week (I think) so I'll take the week off, and go to the doctor if necessary.

I blogged about a little bit of pain after the week I was in Florida. I had some pain after my nine mile run.

And last week, I ran 7 miles in the morning and then noticed the pain while walking around shopping afterwards. I took it so easy this week. I ran 10 miles. I scaled my miles way back. There was a little bit of pain during my five mile run, mild and at the beginning. But that's the only time it's hurt during my run. It usually hurts after my run.

Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate. Or is that C for cat?

It's just an ache. I can take anti-inflammatories and I don't notice it at all.

I ran a race yesterday. No pain during the run. Some afterwards. It's achey. I feel like the front of my leg is bruised.

I feel like I did what I should have
• I run in new shoes from the running store (gait analysis done. I love the shoes!) So it's not worn out shoes.
• I followed the 10% rule ramping up my mileage. I was very deliberate (so hopefully not too much, too soon)

I do worry about calcium. I take a calcium supplement, but I worry about my bones since I don't eat dairy and haven't for 5 years. (I faithfully take a supplement.) I usually drink soy milk so I make but I've been extra diligent to make sure I drink a glass a day and get 100% of the calcium I need.

It could be road running? That I just need a break? Who knows?

In the mean time, I'm looking forward to a lazy week. And if it's still bad, I'll go see the doctor and see if I can use an anti gravity treadmill. At least if I miss running this summer, it's during the hottest part of the summer!

January workout highlights

Workouts: Month in review

13 runs for 61 miles

4 yoga classes

3 BodyPump class

3 pilates classes

2 gymnastics classes

2 home workouts

6 off days 

January highlights

The month started off a little slow with me in holiday mode—but with some double workouts in, I'm definitely back to gym rat status. I'm doing the same classes that I like. I haven't tried any new classes, but a few highlights for the month.

• Signing up for races Will race in 2017. At least twice as much as 2016 ;) 

I know I'm doing 6.6 miles in the Chick-Fil-A half in April and a trail race March 19 I have a bunch of others I'm thinking about including a 10k in February. 

• Completing the Lululemon Strava challenge for a free Swiftly shirtsleeve (and guacamole!)

• Increasing my weight in Bodypump. Woot! 

• Increasing my distance! I have been gradually increasing the distance I run. This time last year I was running 3-4 miles. I don't see a run over 4 miles until July. I've increased from 4 to 5 and change. I finally got to 6 miles this month and can do a 10k. Which is awesome.

(Running longer distances = blood blisters on my feet. I'm between shoes. Retiring old and breaking in new) 

Blood blisters

Just leave them if they're under a callus. They're fine.

• Finally running at Sandy Creek Park. I should make a list of area trails to try.

• Also, I was pretty good with meal prep. Definitely makes a difference!

Goals for next month: 

1) Mileage up to 7 miles

2)  Run better at Sandy Creek (less walking! less falling) 

3) Try a new trail if the weather (maybe make a list of trails in the area to try. Can you tell I love lists?)

4) Stay healthy! 

Running blahs

I think I've officially reached the running blahs.

I am horrible for getting bored with workouts and switching to the next thing.

I've stuck with running for 15 months now, and I keep finding excuses to get out of running

• I'll take food to my sister and run tomorrow
• I'll take today as my rest day instead of Thursday

I just find myself putting off runs.

The weather is gorgeous. There's sunshine and green leaves. The trail runs are so beautiful I have to stop and take pictures of the golden light coming through the canopy. The temperature is perfect to run. So why don't I want to run?

1. I'm discouraged because I'm slower. Those two weeks I was sick killed my endurance and generally slowed me down. I'm having to get back down to times I had months ago. There's a lot of progress down the drain.

2. IT band issues. I had to take almost two months off running last year because of my knee. It's acting up again. And I've been battling tight achilles tendons, which has started to worry me lately. I can barely walk the day after a run and I don't think that's normal or good.

Last year it was because I upped my miles. This year, I'm running the same 8-10 miles a week I've been running for 6+ moths. Nothing is different this year, but the knee pain is there. It's especially bad at gymnastics. So I do want to take time off to get my knee healthy again. I should rehab my knee. But it's hard to make myself do my physical therapy.

3. Boredom. I want something different. Maybe I should run at the track? I went to the trampoline park last week. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE trampolines. But I can't do that every day? Sigh. I would love to do trampolines once a week.

4. Lonely runner. I have no one to run with. Maybe a friend would hold me more accountable. I sort of want to try local group runs, except that I DO NOT RUN ON PAVEMENT. It's too hard on my knees. And that's where the group runs are.

I've been thinking of cutting down my days running. The internet says you really should run three times a week, so I probably shouldn't cut down to two days a week, though that's what I'm thinking of doing. I should be looking forward to workouts (like I do for my other classes) but I'm not excited to run. It's just a cheap, fast way to burn calories.