Shin Splint Shopping Spree

Tuesday started off with a another green smoothie. I put some Naked coconut water, pineapple, strawberries, parsley, romaine lettuce, and a scoop of PlantFusion protein powder in my Ninja blender until it was smooth.

I had a bowl of chicken-vegetable soup for lunch while I caught up on some blogs, read some articles on various health magazine websites, did some pinning on Pinterest, and finally purchased a pair of compression socks from Zoot.com.

Aren't they cool?! I really had to restrain myself from buying another pair (in a different color, of course!) because these were $60! They are a little on the pricey side but if they're going to help, it's worth a shot right?

I had an afternoon snack of some Wholly Guacamole and almond nut-thins. They were out of the 100 calorie packs at my local Kroger, so we had to buy the regular package. The downside to this is that I have to measure it out and it starts turning brown by time I'm ready to eat it. Why do things have to turn brown? And I think whoever said lemon juice helps delay this process was off their rocker.

While looking over the Health & Fitness section of Pinterest, I came across some pins of KT Tape for shin splints. I have seen many runners using tape but I was never sure what the use was for it, so I decided to look into it. From their website:

Need support that will endure multiple lighter workouts? Then original KT TAPE is for you. It provides targeted pain relief and will stay in place through multiple workouts for up to 3 days, through daily showers, humidity, cold, even in the pool.

Each box comes with 20 precut strips of tape on a roll and a quick start guide with step-by-step instructions for the most common injuries.

It had a video on how to apply the tape for shin splints and posterior shin splints. I read some more information on their website and used their store locator and found out that a local Dick's Sporting Goods store sold it. I decided that since I will be waiting a few days for my compression socks that I would swing by Dick's and pick up some KT Tape.

I got home, taped up, and headed out to for my run/walk. Again, I made some slight changes to the plan for this week.

Week 3

Tuesday 6/11 - Thursday 6/13

• 2 minute warm up
• 2 minute run x 1 minute walk. Repeat 9 times.
• 1 minute cool down

Saturday 6/15 - 4 miles

My friend, Erika, joined me for my run. Here we are pre-run.

We did our run on the Rivergreenway. It was 83 degrees out but it didn't feel as humid as it normally does and I actually thought it felt more like the high 70's. Erika disagrees but she is always hot, so what does she know?... KIDDING!

I was really pleased with these splits. I sadly had to leave Erika a little bit behind as she is still nursing a bruised/swollen/popping foot and has asthma. I hate doing that but she encourages me to move on. (I think she secretly likes the view. ;) )

It seemed that we finished our run just in time as it seemed that a storm was rolling in. I heard some thunder and saw some lightening in the distance.

We did some stretches and I headed home shortly after. My legs were on fire. I'm not sure if it was because I was running faster than I have in the past or what. So when I got home I did some more stretches, and then rolled out my shins and calves. I wanted to leave the KT Tape on as long as I could (their website says you can leave it on for up to three days) to help with recovery.

I had also read that compression socks aid in recovery helping remove the lactic acid from your muscles. Some of the websites I had checked out actually sold a compression sock just for recovery. I was just going to put on some softball socks to cover the tape and keep my calves warm but then a light bulb went off! I remembered that I had medical compression socks from when I had surgery two years ago. I figured that these were just the same, if not better, than a sport recovery compression sock - plus, they are full leg compression socks and covered my quads too!

After I relaxed a for a few minutes, I cooked up some chicken fajitas made with chicken, peppers and onions. I served it with a scoop of rice, lettuce, salsa, and corn tortillas. It was delicious!

And then for dessert, I tried a "healthy" brownie recipe which turned out WAY better than I had expected! Look out for the recipe and directions in the future!

Question: What kind of "healthy" treats/desserts do you make and enjoy? Leave your comments below! :)

Happy National Running Day!

Did you know that today is National Running Day? Well, if you didn't, you do now!

I just got home from the gym where I completed my treadmill run for the week. I can really feel the shin splints coming... not happy about that. At. All. However, I did run to Target last week and pick me up this foam roller. My spin instructor said that it could help with shin splints and would also help "roll out" and relax the calf. I have used it a few times and I can immediately feel a difference in my calves. 

I have also been looking into compression socks which I have heard can help alleviate the pain, increase circulation, and aids in recovery. You can wear them while you train, after your run for recovery, or both. I am really considering them but haven't bit the bullet yet because they run about $50+ a pair. They also sell sleeves (just covers ankle up to knee) but I think the socks would be more beneficial as some of them will add extra support to your foot and/or ankle. I might be lookin' like a weirdo but I will do what it takes.

Circling back to my treadmill run.... guess which two of the following were performed on a treadmill? 

1.

2.

3.

4. 

5.

6.

7.

If you guessed 4 & 7, you're correct! I am really stumped on why my average pace has been about 45 seconds to 1 minute slower than my outdoor runs. I always thought assumed that your pace on the treadmill would be faster than outside. The first week of my actual plan (3 & 4) I just did the task at hand. But after I saw that my treadmill pace was slower, I was really curious to know how fast I was running outside. I'm thinking that I am actually faster than I lead myself to believe, so when I am on the treadmill I'm not running as fast as I could because I think, "I can't run that fast!" and slow my pace down.

So, yesterday while I was doing my outdoor run I tried to look at my phone to see what my pace was when I was running or walking. (MapMyRun if you're reading this, you need to make your map smaller and the current/average pace larger!) The current pace and average pace are in the left hand corner and are seriously about a font size 4. It is uber hard to read just while I was walking and impossible when I was running. Needless to say, my original thought didn't pan out to any good information. 

I decided that when I went to the gym today that I would push myself to see if I could get closer to my outside pace from yesterday. I started running at a 5.6 which is about a 10:40 min/mi. I started there because I knew that my average running pace from Saturday and one of my mile splits from yesterday was around there. But it felt a little too easy so I ended up increasing it one to two speeds each round until I reached a 6.2 (9:40 min/mi). I held it there for a few rounds and on my last round I went with a 6.4 just because I could.

I'm not going to worry about the pace difference going forward. I will just push myself each time to see what I am capable of for now. Once I am done with the run/walk plan and just focusing on miles then I think I will have better luck at getting the pace to match.

Question: Do you get shin splints? If so, what methods do you use to help prevent and/or alleviate them?