So You Think You Can't Run?

Hi, wabbits! Today I would like to share my somewhat-lengthy running story with you. Cool? Cool.

I've had a rocky relationship with running over the years. It took me a long time to get to where I am, but now I love running and can't really imagine my life without it. But before I can get to my actual running story, I have to give you a little bit of background on a past health issue of mine.

My story starts when I was about 13 years old and a friend accidentally stepped on my hand... and broke my fingers. Now, I'm sure most people have had a hand or a foot stepped on at some point in their lives... and usually it does not leave you with broken phalanges. So, obviously, this was a problem.

After some X-Rays and tests, I was diagnosed with low bone density. Or, if you want to be technical, I was diagnosed with osteopenia - the precursor to osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is basically when your bones become super brittle, and is most commonly an issue in the elderly, so the fact that I had to deal with this issue when I was 13 is a little wild. But hey, that's my life.

It was determined that my bones were not properly taking in vitamin D and calcium the way they should be, both of which are very important to making your bones strong. So even though I was consuming normal amounts of these nutrients, my body wasn't using the resources wisely. With doctor advice, I addressed the issue the best I could.

Enter a lifestyle of eating ridiculous amounts of calcium and spending a ton of time outside to soak in extra vitamin D! And eating these gross nutrient supplements that taste like chalk twice a day. Yum.

Even with the extra attention to nutrient intake, my bones were still not up to normal standards. I was never into contact sports or anything where injury was a major concern, so I pretty much just got to live my life normally. However, in high school I decided I wanted to get into running... and then this whole low-bone-density situation became a whole new level of sucky.

No matter what I did, I always got shin splints. If you've never had shin splints before, imagine pain all along the front of your shin. A pain that kind of feels like little elves have been hitting your shin with little tiny elf hammers for like 2 weeks straight. That's basically shin splints. They aren't life or death, but they are not pleasant. They make basic activities, like walking to class, much more painful than they should be.

Shin splints are a pretty common problem among runners, since they are caused by overuse. And let's face it, slamming your feet into the ground repeatedly for long periods of time is a pretty good definition of "overuse". But, there are things you can do to avoid shin splints. There are stretches to do before and after runs. There are exercises to strengthen your calf muscles. There are recommendations for what shoes to wear, what surfaces to run on, and how quickly to increase your speed and distance. I tried it all. But it turns out that shin splints are pretty inevitable for a low-bone-density runner. Shocker, I know.

I kind of gave up on running for a while. I decided that it just wasn't going to happen for me and tried to move on.

Things that you are passionate for have a sneaky way of coming back into your life, don't they?

I graduated high school. I went to college. One day, I went for a swim at the campus pool. I happened to meet the coach of the college triathlon team while I was there. He asked me to join the team.

For some crazy reason, I said yes.

Now, you may or not be aware that the third portion of a triathlon is running. So, you can see where this is going.

I started running again. I was EXTREMELY careful. Obnoxiously so. I did ALL the preventative measures I could and became very in-tune with my body. I was able to recognize when the shin splints were creeping back up on me and would let up on my training for a bit when necessary.

Despite my spidey-senses, I did end up getting one particularly bad case of shin splints once while training for my first triathlon. The doctor took an X-Ray of my leg to make sure nothing more serious was going on. They actually determined that I didn't *technically* have low bone density anymore - my gross nutrient tablets were finally paying off! However, my bones were still on the lower-density side of normal. Hence, still having issues with shin splints.

I was eventually sent to a physical therapist to deal with my shin splints as well as some other leg-related issues I was having. It helped a lot, and before I knew it I was training again.

Even with all of my prevention, and my new discovery of *mostly* normal bones again, I still couldn't run past 3 miles. Luckily, the triathlons I was competing in had runs that were just about 3 miles, so I could compete. But anytime I went any further than that in my training, the shin splints came back again. And even when I did just the 3 miles, I could still tell that my shins were pretty angry at me the next day - even if it wasn't to the point of actual shin splints.

I decided that I would just be a 5k runner and that the dream in the back of my head of someday running a marathon simply wasn't in the cards.

Then, one day, my mom heard about a man named Jeff Galloway.

Jeff Galloway is this super cool guy that created the run-walk-run Galloway method. Basically, he recommends doing a run:walk ratio, rather than just straight up running. His programs aren't designed to eventually built you up to a regular run - the ENTIRE PROGRAM is about run:walk ratios in the interest of injury prevention. As you train you alter your ratio for the amount of running and walking that is appropriate for you, but you are always encouraged to walk if you feel pain for any reason. There's a lot more involved in the actual training, but that's the general concept.

My mom and I joined a Galloway training group and we were hooked. We often only ran 15 seconds and walked 30, but at least we were running. And you know what? If you walk with a purpose, you can still move at a reasonable pace! This method will probably never get you a gold medal in a race, but IT WORKS.

When I was full-on running 5ks, I would finish in just about 30 minutes, and I would be in massive pain the next day. When I run:walk a 5k, I finish in about 35 minutes... and I am PAIN-FREE. I will happily be 5 minutes slower if it means that my shins are kind to me.

My mom and I both trained for a half-marathon on this program. And we did it! A year before finding this program, I didn't think I'd ever run more than a 5k. But with this program, I was able to RUN A HALF MARATHON. That is such a big deal to me! My next goal (eventually) is a full marathon. Someday!

So, I guess what I want you to get out of this... is that you CAN run. Or dance. Or weight lift. Or do whatever it is that you are dreaming of doing. You just have to find the right version of it for you.

Run hoppy!