13+ Miles

Saturday, August 22, 2009 - Ran over 13 miles doing the Mission Bay "snowman" loop that started at De Anza, looped through Crown Point, around Sail Bay, across the Sea World parking lot, past Fiesta Island, and back through De Anza Cove. My shins burned so much. I'm pretty frustrated.

Boo

Wednesday, August 19, 2009 - 5.00 miles at De Anza Cove. My shins hurt even when I ran on the grass. I was hoping for a pain-free run today since I went to the chiropractor yesterday. This is frustrating.

Sigh

Monday, August 17, 2009 - 5.00 miles at De Anza Cove, just under 11:00/mile. I got ahead of myself and just started running the first couple miles on the cement and by mile 2.25, I had to stop a few times to stretch; it was all grass running from there. I'm glad though that 5 miles is starting to feel like an easy run (sans shin pain.)

Run Run Run

Saturday, August 15, 2009 - Ran 11.5 miles at De Anza/Mission Bay. I was able to run the entire 11.5 nonstop without stopping once :) It took me (again) the first 3 miles or so to get my shins fully warmed up so I ran off and on the grass until I could stay on the cement without the burning feeling in my legs. I went fairly slow from miles 1-3, picked it up a bit for miles 4-6, got my second wind for miles 7-8, and was really struggling by miles 9-11...my knees and right hip even started to feel tight and plain out worn and tired. I tried to sprint (as much as my aching knees/hip would allow) the last half mile. Total time? Somewhere between 2 hours and 12 or 13 minutes, which is around 11:30/mile for pacing. Not that great but I'm just glad I was able to run this without stopping!

It was a weekend full of run junk; K ran the America's Finest City 1/2 Marathon and finished in an impressive 2:05:31 (9:35/mile pace); I am so proud of him...that's a good time for his first 1/2 marathon! We all got up at the butt crack of dawn to drop off the runners at Balboa Park before 5:30 am, then took a meandering "tour" through Bankers Hill and Hillcrest in desperate search of coffee & breakfast at 6 am. B, B and I got an awesome breakfast at Cafe on Park and made it back to the finish line in time to see K and S! Somehow we missed V, G, N, R, and most everyone else from runsandiego.org :( We hung out, took photos, got free stuff at the vendor booths, and then V and G came over and well enjoyed some beer and sunshine at our pool and jacuzzi. Then B, K and I went to go see Yorkie puppies! Omg, so cute!

I <3 De Anza Cove

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 - Another 4.50 miler at De Anza Cove. It's become my favorite spot because you can run on grass for most of the strip. No shin pain. Just under 11:00/mile pace. Let's see how I hold up for my 11.50 miler this weekend!

Is the pattern that there is no pattern?

Monday, August 10, 2009 - Ran 4.50 miles at De Anza Cove today without any pain. I am getting really confused because I can't figure out any sort of pattern for things to do to avoid shin pain. Granted, I ran 80% of my run today on the grassy part of the boardwalk that follows the coast, but not only did I not have pain today, but I also 1) did not use Salonpas the night before 2) nor did I do any of my PT exercises or stretches and 3) I only used the stick for about 2-3 minutes the night prior when I usually spend 10+ minutes using the stick on my legs. Is the key to shin-splints-free running to run exclusively on soft surfaces (i.e, grass, dirt trails)? Or is inaction the real action to running without pain?

10 Miles!

Saturday, August 8, 2009 - 10 miles at Lake Miramar. This time it took the first 3.5 miles for my shins to get warmed up enough that the burning pain went away. Both my right and left shins hurt...the right one now has 2 knots on it and the left one has one giant one. End result - it took me about 1 hour and 13 minutes to do the first lap/5 miles and just less than 55 minutes to run the second lap.