Training Days 6 & 7

No...I didn't skip out on yesterdays workout, but it was a cross-train day and after the horribly painful run on Monday, I decided to walk for my allotted cross fit time. I had read on several blog that walking hills or inclines was helpful for shin splints, so I gave it a shot. Surprisingly, I do think that the walk, combined with the physical therapy exercises I've been doing, helped. I kept my pace comfortable and pushed the incline as much as I could.

Today, however was a run day. A short one at only 2 miles, but a run none the less. I was a little nervous about how the legs would hold up, so I made sure to stretch out well, and did a round of 20 heel raises before I started. I took is slow to start, but managed to run a full 10 minutes without stopping. (Woo Hoo! I will celebrate the tiny accomplishments - because I didn't know if I could even  get back there.) I did some walking but tried to keep my breaks limited to 1-2 minutes. Each time I went back to running my speed increased, but the time I could run decreased, which I suppose is normal. I felt pretty good about tonight's run. No real pain and only a little bit of tightness in my calves, which if I'm being honest, means I probably should have spent a little more time post-run stretching and rolling things out. As a preventive measure, I did ice afterwards though.

My pace still isn't great, and I was a little disappointed that it wasn't better given how much I actually ran, but I have to focus on the little wins. Running for 10 minutes. Keeping going when I wanted to stop. Not experiencing shards of glass ripping through my shins - Big win! So for tonight I will be satisfied and look forward to my run on Saturday.