A Beginner's Injury

I started running in 2008. Like most runners, especially those who come to it for the first time as adults, I've dealt with my share of injuries. 

(Warning...there is a photo of a bruised and swollen foot in this post!)

First it was IT band syndrome, which makes sense because when I started running, I wasn't doing anything else. No squats, no lunges, no warmups. That was solved with foam rolling, knee braces/straps, and eventually, adding some strength training to my routine.

These old pictures of me running in ~2011/2012 are too nostalgic, I couldn't just choose one to share.

My IT band caused knee pain, so I used to wear these giant knee braces.

Eventually I graduated to a knee strap.

I dealt with pain on the top of my foot when training for my first marathon, likely due to how I was lacing my shoes. I've run (and raced) with a broken toe more than once.

This photo was taken the same day as the one above it. I ran that race with a broken pinky toe.

Then came compartment syndrome, which was a much harder thing to diagnose and required a more invasive solution, but has (fortunately) been a thing of the past for almost 10 years now. God, time really flies.

In all my years of running, I have never had the one injury most runners struggle with most: shin splints. I always felt lucky, and a little smug, that I couldn't relate to this very common complaint. So in a way, maybe I kind of deserve to eat my words.

The thing is, I know exactly what's causing it. I like a light, fast stability shoe. Most support shoes provide a lot of guidance, more than I need, and are heavy. Brooks's most popular stability shoe, the Adrenaline, was too much for me, but the Ravenna (and its nominal replacement, the Launch GTS) was perfect.

Then, they phased it out.

Apparently there just isn't a market for lightweight stability shoes, and brands are no longer making them. Brooks's stability shoe, the Adrenaline, is too much shoe for me. I've just gotten used to a slimmer, lighter shoe. When it came time to replace my Launches, I had no choice but to switch to a neutral shoe.

At first they were fine, and I actually really like the shoes. I wore them for my birthday half and felt pretty strong all through training, but as I've continued to run in them, my shin splints have gotten more frequent and more intense.

I'm not never having good runs in them...but I'm also not always having good runs anymore!

I've found that some things help but nothing is guaranteed. I've tried stretching my calves before a run, doing toe exercises, massaging with Graston tools, wearing compression socks, using a heating pad...Nothing seems to work. I'll get some relief, but it's not permanent. 

I have a half coming up in just over a week. I know I can run through the shin splints, but I am worried about creating a more serious injury if I don't get a handle on them. In fact, there's a voice in my head telling me I've already got stress fractures and should rest, but logically I know that's unlikely. 

I have a pair of custom insoles from Road Runner Sports I'll be trying over the next few days, but with only two runs left before race day, I am skeptical these alone will provide relief, and it's just too late to do anything else.

May 3rd! I hope Nick doesn't mind a slow race.

I am just so frustrated that I finished my half in February feeling ready for a PR, and now, after years of running and overcoming much more serious injuries, I'm dealing with one that's so frustratingly persistent, that I've always been lucky to avoid, and that's proving impossible to heal.

I just hope I can get through this race and take some recovery time to figure out what to do next.

Ali