And the Verdict Is...

I have mentioned a few times before that I was having some knee pain when running downhill. It first started during the Baltimore Half Marathon and has been occurring every time I have run downhill since then.

In addition to this knee pain, I have been struggling with pain on the inside of my lower legs since I started running back in April. The pain increased when running uphill so I switched to running on a flat trail near my house. The pain went away and I was no longer concerned with it.

When I started school in August I started running hills again because my apartment and school are both in very hilly areas. And the pain came back. Luckily it wasn't as bad as it was before but it was still painful enough.

The combination of the pain on the inside of my lower legs plus the newly developed knee pain convinced me to talk to someone with more knowledge. I made an appointment with a sports medicine specialist back in my hometown, hoping I wasn't in too much trouble.

My appointment was last night. As soon as I told the doctor what was bothering me he knew exactly what the problem was.

He told me that the pain on the inside of my lower leg is shin splints. I was very relieved to hear that it wasn't a stress fracture and that I could easily overcome this.

He then told me that my knee pain was actually caused by the IT band. I thought this was the problem but after doing some reading I am pretty scared. My doctor said that stretching, ice, strength training, and running on soft, flat surfaces should help relieve the pain.

He gave me some exercises to do, which I did as soon as I got back home. I am going to take my ibuprofen, stretch, strengthen, and ice round the clock. I want to tackle this thing as best as possible.

I also plan on minimizing the amount of hills I run right now. Worst case worst, I can head inside to run on the treadmill. I hate treadmills but I hate being injured even more.

Have you struggled with shin splints or IT band issues? Any suggestions for relieving pain?

How to Not Get Injured

First, if you haven't already done so, PLEASE go vote for me (Shannon Mulcahy) to become a member of the Refuel With Chocolate Milk team! I would really appreciate all the support I can get so go tell your friends to vote too! Voting is here! 

I have done a few posts over the past week or so about how I have been running more consistently. I have really fallen in love with running, especially running higher mileage. Last night I went out for an easy 4 mile run and I wasn't feeling too great. I felt pretty slow, and my shins were bothering me. I made sure to keep my pace slow so I didn't end up in too much pain but by the end of the run my knees and the tops of my feet were also bothering me. I started to panic. I had been feeling so great the past week and was so scared that it was all a fluke. I immediately started thinking of ways to recover so I wouldn't be in too much pain or discomfort to do my long run tomorrow. That was when it hit me. I have not been taking proper care of myself following my runs.

Ever since I got home from vacation I have been slacking a little. My running has been going really well and I have been getting faster, but I have been skipping out on a bunch of other important things. First of all, I stopped icing after my runs. Before I used to have to ice or else I would be in too much pain to run the next time. But once I wasn't in pain after running anymore I stopped icing. While I do not think that it is necessary to ice after every run, I do think it is crucial to ice after any runs that are hard or leave me in any kind of pain or discomfort. Tuesday night I did a hard tempo run and afterwards my knees and shins were bothering me but instead of icing them like I should have I went out for ice cream with my mom. I could have iced when I came home but at that point I was feeling better so I decided that is wasn't necessary. WRONG. I payed for it yesterday during my easy 4 miles.

Another thing I haven't been doing that I should be is cross training. Sure I have done a few non-running workouts here or there but not nearly enough, especially considering I have a triathlon next weekend. (eek!) The best part about cross training is that each different type of workout benefits my running in a different way. Swimming loosens me up and helps build upper body strength, cycling works on endurance, and Insanity really builds up lower body strength. I feel so much better while running when I am hitting my cross training workouts.

I know this may sound crazy, but I do not normally stretch before or after I run. That is something that I really need to change though. I know how important stretching is for the body, since it really made a huge difference when I used to swim competitively. I used to be pretty flexible but I am not anymore since I haven't been stretching. I would also like to add a weekly yoga session if possible to help with stretching.

Shin Splits? Or Something More?

I have been dealing with a pain on the inside of my lower right leg for awhile now. I first thought it was a shin splint but nothing was making the pain go away permanently. I tried icing it, rest, stretching, cross training, and taking ibuprofen. At this point I am worried that something is really wrong and I am not just dealing with a shin splint.

The problem is that I am supposed to be starting half marathon training but it hurts to run. I tried to run yesterday but I could barely run a mile because the pain was so bad. I am going to try running on the trail tomorrow to see if the hills have anything to do with the pain but if it still hurts really badly than I will have to go to the doctor.

If anyone has any ideas for stretching or what may be happening to my leg I would love to hear them!