Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Take the Train...

Cross train that is. My ongoing saga of shin splints that have turned out to not really be shin splints continues. My stubbornness has gotten me into a bind and now I find myself having to bike. I’m not excited about it. For whatever reason I don’t get the same sense of satisfaction from a ride as I do from a run. However, it is a means to an end.

My shin pain hit its pinnacle just over two weeks ago when the pain during the run and between runs was just unbearable. I haven’t run since. I finally saw my doctor, which resulted in an immediate x-ray of my left leg (with the kids in tow – much to the dismay of the x-ray techs). My right leg has healed and is pain free since I stopped running. My left is very much the same today as it was two weeks ago. Not a good sign! The x-ray came back normal – phew! Now I’m waiting to see the physical therapist on the 25th.

In the meantime, I bike. According to what I’ve read in books and the internet pedaling between 80 and 100 rpm’s is very similar in exertion level to running. So, now when I want to run 3 miles I ride the bike at 80-100 rpm’s for about 40 minutes (the length of time it would take me to run 3 miles).
Lesson learned. Listen to my body and cross train to give it a break when necessary.

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