[TakingCharge]

Hi all! I just signed up for my first ever 10K and I'm really, really excited. It's in October so I have plenty of time to train for it, but I was hoping you had some advice/wisdom to share with me about training.

As of now, I can run 4 miles at a 10min/mi pace. I'm not too concerned with speed at this point, mostly just the distance. I've looked up a lot of training plans online and they require about 4 days of running a week, but the problem is, I've had bad shin splints forever, so I only run every 3rd day (run, 2 days cross-training and/or weights, run, etc.), so those schedules don't work for me.

Does anyone have a similar problem with not being able to run as often as the training plans suggest? Is that ok? What was your training schedule like?

Thank you so much for your help! I can't wait to complete my first 10K!

[ennay]

What is the root cause of your shin splints?

[TakingCharge]

Honestly, I'm not positive, but I think it started because of bad form+inexperience+weakness, but I'm pretty sure all 3 of those have been fixed now. I wear orthotics in my shoes and shin wraps and my shins never actually hurt while running. I ice them after every run and stretch and strengthen them, so I haven't had major problems recently (just a little soreness), but I'm hesitant to start running more often because my current routine is working so well to prevent them from coming back. I could give it a try to see what happens, but I don't want to have to deal with taking time off if they get bad again, you know? It's kind of a toss up!

[rileyozzy]

I am training for a 10k too. It is August 5 and I haven't even run the full distance yet. The most I have run is 5 miles so far and I am getting a little bit nervous. I had a lot of foot pain, but I bought some inserts for my shoes and it has made such a difference!!! I do try to run 4 or five times a week. And I try to 2/3 times for distance and 1/2 times for speed. I've noticed that since I have been doing faster runs, I don't tire as fast when I do a run for distance. The only other exercise I do is yoga though.

[TakingCharge]

Good luck riley! I'm sure you'll do great.