Dreaded Shin Splints

As sure as Murphy's Law allows, if something can go wrong, it will go wrong.

What's wrong in this case is an injury less than a week from my 10k. Shin splints.

I've never really had much trouble with these in the past, I might get a little soreness during a run, but it would "go away" after I'd warm up. I think I even commented on that very thing in my 2/21/09 entry. They were just one of those things that I never really experienced long term.

Well, either the intensity or the mileage in this training program has caught up with me as I've progressed from having them "go away" to having them late in a long run, to having them the entire run, to having them around the clock. Reading up on some websites explained that this is the exact textbook progression for this "overuse" injury. Right now, as I'm writing this, they are sore, but only if I probe the area (on the inside of shin, right in front of the calf) with my hand/finger.

Doing some more reading (notably at the site below) shows that the best cure is rest, but I don't have that as an option this week. I'm going to go with the 2nd best cure, tapering and anti-inflammatories, and hope for the best.

http://www.watfxc.com/TF/TF%20Education/shin_splints.htm