DCM 2018 - Mentored Novice Thread

unfortunately I've plenty of experience. Like Kelly said, get yourself into a physio.

Where you based? Great one on Kildare street, who focus on keeping you moving.

Few things I learned for them:

Get to physio to be shown correct stretching ASAP...as in today Foam roll, focus on area that caused it. more than likely IT band, glutes or even your back Keep moving! Swimming and cycling will help keep your fitness up to a certain extent Don't go to physio who will just give you a rub down, you need to be shown correct ways of stretching

Luckily it's so far out you should be fine. I can DM over some of the stretches physio gave me but I'd highly advise going to one yourself.

coogy wrote: »

Hi folks,

not seeking any medical advice or anything but just wondering what the more experienced runners' experiences are with shin splints during their marathon training?
Was out on a 5 mile run last night and felt it coming on. Quite sore this morning so I'll try to rest up for a couple of days and ease back into it.

Thanks!

+1 on everyone's advice to go to a physio

I've always found that some foam rolling when i feel it coming on helps a lot

Dealerz2.0 wrote: »

Strides...bloody hell...��

Strides shouldn't be a full-on 100m sprint, you shouldn't feel wrecked afterwards.

Their goal is to improve your running form. This is important for people training for a marathon, because a lot of long slow miles can mean your run turns into a head down shuffle. Strides are to remind you how you should be running, and help you retain your form when tired.

So -
five seconds accelerating to a fast pace, but not a full sprint
focus on staying tall, shoulders relaxed but arms bent and elbows driving back, feet landing beneath you and picking up behind you
(if that's too much to think about, focus on one in each stride)
stop accelerating, but hold that speed and form for about ten seconds
five seconds of controlled deceleration back to a slow jog
30 seconds of easy jogging, then go again

A common mistake is to push too hard, try to go too fast. What usually happens then is you start tightening up. So the aim is not as fast as you can go, but a fast pace that you can maintain while relaxed. If ten seconds is too long, if you start straining before then, end the stride and go back to the jog.

You'll get out of breath during/after the strides, but only for a few minutes, five minutes later you should feel the same as after an easy run without strides.

Rossi7 wrote: »

The most common cause of shin splints is from increasing your mileage and intensity of your runs. If your doing 3-4 sessions on the bounce I'd say throw in a rest day or really slow run. If your runs are all on hard surfaces try doing one or two sessions a week on grass.
As Kellygirl suggested, I'd get a physio to take a look at it as I have a friend who suffers from them and it's down to his gait apparently

Rossi7, it's funny you should say that because I've been extremely conscious of not overdoing it and following advice by the folks on here, my running pace has decreased over the last couple of weeks by a couple of minutes.
I always factored in a rest day between runs, thinking it would prevent injury. Even last night, minutes before I felt the first niggle, I tried shortening my strides because I had read about shin splints a few days ago and that was something that was recommended to keep them at bay.
Anyway, thanks for the advice. Will get to a physio asap, I can't bear the thought of this causing long-term problems.

anyone not signed up, it's due to be sold out in the coming days

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057874761

Baby75 wrote: »

Hi Coogy, yes I did and it was early on in the training last actually after taking part in some shorter races in my local running club made mine worse, I had them on the inside of my legs both sides.

I agree do get checked out by a physio as pain in that area can be caused by something else so it is wise to find out for sure.

Things that worked for me,
1, Rested for 1 week, I crossed trained instead on my bike
2, Iced the area, KT tape, compression socks and stretching along with massage
3, My shin splints were caused by overpronation, so I invested in a good pair of runners suitable for marathon training
4, I started following the HNN1 plan and rested between runs for the first couple of weeks and slowly I was able to run first 2 days in a row and then the 3-midweek runs in a row ( slowing down was a huge reason I was able to do that)

Thankfully after a weeks rest, I was able to run again and they never came back.
good luck and keep us posted on how you get on.

Thanks Baby75,

I will take week off and if I'm still feeling pain next week, it's straight to the physio!
I know this might sound silly, but I have always had very skinny ankles (much to my wife's jealousy) and I'm wondering has the impact of running exclusively on hard surfaces started to take its toll?
Just a thought.

I developed shin splints as a kid, aged 20 or so playing GAA. Went to my GP at the time and he advised making sure I have plenty of cushioning for the soles of my feet and so reducing impact.

You could get GAA socks at the time with the thick, cushioned soles, and I also picked up sports socks with as high a cotton content as possible, like 80% cotton. Put on the GAA socks first and then the sports socks over those, trying to maximise the cushion for my feet.

Honestly, it sorted my shin splints immediately, I have never had one single issue with them in the 20 years since. And as an added bonus having the two pairs of socks is actually the same principle involved in those thousand mile socks runners pay big money for, so I've never had blisters as a runner either.

Maybe anecdotal and might not work for everybody, but if you are suffering shin splints it could be worth a try, just get some cushioning into the shoes!

brownbinman wrote: »

anyone not signed up, it's due to be sold out in the coming days

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057874761

I hit the panic button today and entered, they say that the third time is a charm.

Oh no........what have I done.......nooooooooo..:eek:

Training starts tonight at the Staff Relay in the Phoenix Park!! around 7,000 people running this (1,400 teams x 5 people). Our third year to run it, great atmosphere at it and one or two lemonades afterwards too

It's so on.

coogy wrote: »

Thanks Baby75,

I will take week off and if I'm still feeling pain next week, it's straight to the physio!
I know this might sound silly, but I have always had very skinny ankles (much to my wife's jealousy) and I'm wondering has the impact of running exclusively on hard surfaces started to take its toll?
Just a thought.

Your ankles I doubt are a factor but I am not an expert, so I am only guessing but if you look at runners from Africa they have thin ankles and it doesn't seem to cause them any issues. you never know they could be an advantage

I agree on good cushioning to help reduce impact, so will working on correct form when running. S&C could help target a weakness somewhere if that is the cause a good physio if you need one after a week will be able to advise on all that.

Signed up yesterday. Will be my first time running it and second marathon!

Helenasca wrote: »

First time marathon attempt. Help! Did my first half last year. Second one coming up in 4 wks. Struggling to find plan that suits my run days already. I've running club on Mon and Thurs do 7/8 k and lsd on fri which is up to 15k at the moment. Looking to find something that includes those days and work from there. Really excited to be part of a bigger group to 'use' expertise and knowledge when it comes to gels, hitting the wall and everything else in between

Hi Helenasca. What other days can you run? I have to tweak all plans to change the days so that I can do my long run on Wednesday’s due to working weekends. There’s no issue with that. You might find it harder to match your club runs up with plans though in terms of distance and pace? If you are doing a half in 4 weeks it sounds like you’ll be in a great place to start the plan. You sound experienced enough to do the Boards plan - have to looked at whether that would work for you?

Hit the button yesterday, will be my first marathon. I have 3 years of mountain running under my belt but my longest race was 26k so far. Am lucky to be in a great club where lots of people will be training for it. Hopefully that will make it easier for me. Did the Avondale half in feb (measured 20.6k) in 1:37. Looking forward to it even though it means I’ll have to but the mountain running on the back burner for a while.

DubOnHoliday wrote: »

Hit the button yesterday, will be my first marathon. I have 3 years of mountain running under my belt but my longest race was 26k so far. Am lucky to be in a great club where lots of people will be training for it. Hopefully that will make it easier for me. Did the Avondale half in feb (measured 20.6k) in 1:37. Looking forward to it even though it means I’ll have to but the mountain running on the back burner for a while.

Hi Dubonholiday, welcome to the thread. That was a great time in Avondale. Sounds like you have plenty of miles under your belt. Are you going to follow the Boards plan?

Last 1,000 places according to the DCM facebook as of earlier today, get yourself entered before you miss out!!

Had to take a week off, slight niggles in hamstring (always after gardening) and then slight knee pain, don't know how.

Out at weekend and feeling strong. Good 8km/5m. Aiming to get up to 8m for LSR by w/c 25th June.

Really excited, much more than last year