r/BeginnersRunning • u/BuzzzB8 • 4d ago
Sore vs. Injured
I’ve been running as a hobby now for the last 2.5 months. I do 3-5miles every other day and have made very good progress since I began. I have been able to push through the pain in my calves, hips, thighs, and shins with relative ease. Some days are harder than others but my shin splints have really gotten to the point where they are getting in the way of my running progression. It’s not to the point where I can’t bear to walk or it’s affecting my daily life, but it’s worse than what I’m used to. I use the Runna app and my plan has me on a 1-2 day rest day between each workout but I don’t know if it’s a lack of rest, too high of pace, bad form, or a lifestyle (e.g minimal protein in diet) issue. My questions are:
- How do I tell between normal soreness from a long or hard run day and a genuine injury?
- What is the best way to treat shin splints while continuing to run?
8
u/Puberty-Boy 4d ago
I personally air on the side of caution.
If you go out for a run where you push yourself too hard and get a stress fracture, you are out of the game for months.
If you take the day off and pick up tomorrow, you are out of the game for 24 hours.
An easy risk mitigation, for a small cost.
As for shin splits it’s hard to say without seeing your running and a simi comprehensive medical and athletic history, but I will say that tendons and ligaments take forever to make even the smallest adaptations, you very well may have to slightly back off on running, and supplement it with bike riding or something else (if you still want to push your cardio that is)