Shin Splints and Challenges

As a daughter of a runner, I remember many mornings coming upstairs to see my dad lying on the floor stretching after a long morning fitness run.  I remember the rolling pin on the floor and my mom massaging out my dad's sore legs.  I've seen my dad suffer hip pains (that he ran a 10k with and took first in his age group) I've seen him run with a broken knee cap, Achilles problems....he's a runner and has been since high school.  When I first started running I had horrible pain in my knee.  Pain that only showed up when I ran.  After talking to him about it we decided that I had Iliotibial band syndrome.  After stretching more before and after running, buying new shoes, and continuing to run it eventually went away.

My running since there has been fairly painless.  The most pain I've ever experienced from running was after the Half.  I didn't get to stretch properly afterwards, nor eat right, and my body let me know it!!  I swore I could've slept for a week after the half.  Fast forward to last night.  I decided to go on a 3 mile run.  A quarter mile up Eisenhower I thought someone had taken a baseball bat to my shins.  I kept pushing, the pain got worse.  I came home stretched and went to Zumba.  After Zumba I did some of the Warrior Dash workout.  I decided to try and do some HIIT training...warmed up with a light jog for 5 minutes, ran at 7 for 2 minutes and upped it to 9.5 I ran the minute and I could barely jog afterwards.  Needless to say I didn't do any more.  I jogged for a mile stretched and went home, where I was greeted by Swai Tail and fresh veggies for dinner.  I called my dad and he said "Ice and elevate them."  I did and they feel a lot better today.  I decide to take the day off from any work out.

Now on to the challenge. Everyone knows that I like a good challenge.  I read a blog and this lady is doing a Natural Food Challenge for the month.  It got me thinking, I don't think I have the will power to eat no sugar for the month, but what about going Vegetarian?  I love my steak, burgers, turkey, chicken...but what about giving them up?  So I talked to Brandon.  He jumped on board!  On March 1st we will be going Vegetarian for the month.  We will still eat eggs and fish but we will not eat any other meat.

I will blog daily about the trials and tribulations of not eating meat.  I am also going to schedule an appointment to talk to a Dietician to just make sure that I am getting everything I need to be getting.  Especially with running a half marathon the next month.