I have had problems with tender shins on and off for a while now. I'm just starting to build back up the mileage to get some decent training in before Blackmore's and am starting to suffer with shin pain again. Not too bad last week but after my "long" run on Sunday there was a noticeable swelling on the shin and it still hurt when walking the next day. Most of my running is done on hard surfaces (naughty Beki, I know) and while I have had this shin problem in the past it usually disappears once my body adjusts to the increased training load

I'm doing all the icing/voltaren/stretching calves/self massage thing and today it is 100% better but I'm wondering if for the time being I should do as the thread title says and swap my programmed 5k easy, recovery runs for 45 minute spin classes while I am in the building phase and what I consider to be the "danger zone" for me

Any thoughts/suggestions from people who have used these classes to complement their training and help to improve their aerobic fitness?

Probably a good idea. Spin classes are alot harder than a 5km easy run though, but you can go as hard or as easy as you like. You certainly wont lose any fitness doing it and if anything gain a little. I see spin classes almost like doing intervals etc with running, with 5 or 6 "hard songs", and a one or two warm up and warm down songs.

Beki,

I feel your pain and have been going through the same thing recently. Flexibilty and core strength is the key to most running related injuries and this is no different. My fix involved changing shoes from Asics to Nike for additional cushioning assistance, avoiding fast flat work, doing a little bit of hill work slowly and splitting the weekly long run into two runs. I spoke with a physio who runs the shoe store where the Nikes came from told me to keep running through the shin pain and hopefully the tight muscles will relax and strengthen to a point where the pain is gone.

Good luck.

I think perhaps you could also have a look at your training.

If it is the long runs that are giving you sore shins, why not ditch the long run, do a bit more than half the distance today and tomorrow for your recovery run try and do the same again.

What distance are you planning for at Blackmores? If it is the marathon then if you spread out your training load you may not have half the trouble.

HillsAths1, I haven't decided on a distance yet. I was going to see how the training went over the next month or so before making a decision. The program I'm following leads up to the full but I can't see a problem with keeping the longs runs to nothing longer than 20k for a while. That way I can still get in some longer runs if I decide on the full or give the half a decent crack - I'm leaning towards the half at the moment as I think I may need longer than 18 weeks to build up the mileage

I'm booked in for a massage on Saturday and plan on incorporating these every couple of weeks. I have also been advised not to do spin classes while my shins are sore - presumably to do with the tightening of my claves?

It's frustrating because for the first 12 months of running I never had any problems with shin pain - I'm thinking the change in terrain has a lot to do with it (flat and mostly trail stuff in Melbourne to hilly and mostly concrete in Sydney)

As Chopper says, spin is a lot harder than a recovery run. Great for cardio though. And fun.

I used to go to the gym a fair bit, then gave it up for a couple of months to concentrate on running and training for my first HM.

Now that's done, I'm back to doing a bit of both - i.e. spin/aerobics classes and running too, and I have to say that my HM training has left me less aerobically fit than I was before. Spin is suddenly much harder and my legs aren't as strong!

No doubt the low impact workout will be better for your shins too, as you suggest.

So my thoughts would be to give it a go!

If only it were that easy! I do beleive it has a lot to do with the body adapting to increased load, it's just a matter of how quickly it can adapt (in my case that's not very quickly!)

Beki if you are leaning towards the half, make the decision and move on. Once you have decided you will be able to cut down on the longer runs and do more regular runs.
How many Kms are you doing a week now? Do you have anywhere that you are able to do some runs where you do not have to run on concrete all the time? Sydney is a big place and there is still some grassed areas left.
If you want suggestions about where to run there are plenty of Knowledgeable CR's out there.
Good luck in what ever you decide.

Some of the runs I have are on a mix of concrete/soft sandy stuff so it's not all bad - but I would say that about 80% of the running is on the unforgiving surfaces. most of my runs are in the evening after work so I just go for convenience i.e. wherever I can run to straight out of the front door

I'm going to make a decision on the distance this weekend once I get a good assessment of how bad things are... I think the full is more of a romantic notion

Thanks HA