Shin Splints

So I’ve been working out in my garage for half a month now (since May 12 to be exact). My exercise bike is out there. My bench is out there. My dumbbells and bars, straight and curled, are there. I have a clock but no radio yet. I usually workout out at 6 a.m. and am done a half-hour later, so I won’t be blasting any metal yet. Yet.

I’ve got it in my head to run a 5K. My town sponsors one every April. That’s about eleven months away. Should be enough time to train. The last 5K I ran was in 2003. The last time I ran anything longer than ten yards was around the same time. The decade that has flown by has seen me battle atrial fibrillation, pulmonary vein stenosis, and a steadily enlarging waistline. Running not only winds me, it scares me.

This morning I did my first “run” in ten years. I got up and got dressed and got out the door by 6:30 am. Ten minutes later I was done. Outside was a weird mixture of cool and humid, banks of fog giving only one-block visibility. I did a variation of 100 paces walking, 100 paces jogging. Did this about a dozen times over half-a-mile. Got back, slightly winded but otherwise okay (read: alive).

Thought I’d have a euphoric high to carry over into my early morning at work, but, no. Just a somewhat non-centered fatigue, probably due to my body still rebelling against 6 am wakeup workouts. Then, around noon, I noticed my shins really started to ache. Shin splints. Hadn’t felt what they felt like in years.

Tonight I’m gonna soak in the tub – I know, I know, what else is new – but pay special attention to my calves. Not sure what I’m going do. Maybe an Epsom salt soak. Maybe some baking powder (hey, it works!). Definitely some stretching tonight, Rodney Yee yoga stretches, so they’re loosened up for the six or seven hours of sleep I’ll get.

Tomorrow morning – back with the weights.

Friday morning – going for a 200 pace walk/jog mixture.

Pray for me.