If you have shin splints, then you need to get that taken care of. Otherwise, it will effect everything else. I used to have really bad shin splints but when I started targeting the muscle on the front of my shin, everything resolved. You can do this using something as simple as a bicycle tube, or something as specialized as a DARD (do a search on Amazon).
As far as your sprint training, I agree with boldwarrior. You need to simply sprint. I would not jump into a lot of long sprints right at the start. Instead, do 10, 20, 30, and 40m accelerations from a lying start on a slight grass hill. This will improve your acceleration mechanics and should also be easier on your shins.
Do 100m repeats at <75% intensity tempo on grass to work on your relaxation and open stride.
Take the tube and put one end around something that doesn’t move. Stick you toes through the other end, then pull your toes up towards your knee (dorsiflex). Hard to explain. Simple to do…
“The exercise that was recommended is, as I tend to refer to it, best described as figure-eights. Although, that description confuses some people … maybe just calling it circles in both directions is clearer. Find yourself an old bicycle tube (bike shops will usually give you a punctured tube for free) or some surgical tubing, and tie a loop at one end to put your foot through. Position your foot so that the ball of the foot is making contact with the tubing so that you have good leverage. This is best done seated. Pull back on the other end with as much resistance as feels comfortable, and rotate your foot in circles (point your toe, rotate clockwise toward you, then away from you, etc.). Vary how hard you pull so that the resistance stays fairly even as the foot comes closer and moves further away. Change directions from time to time, making slow, controlled movements. After five to ten minutes a day of this, my shin splints were gone for good within a mere week or two. Had I only known about this three years earlier…”
So basically, bring toes towards you, and move them left and right?
It will depend on te type of shin splints i.e. surface related or structurally related. If its Tib Ant then rolling and stretching that area and lots of ice (plunging lower limbs into ice water, ice massage etc). You need to get the inflammation down. Once you have done this different exercises including heel walks and toe walks wil help strengthen this area. However, you may need to find alternative surfaces or better shoes. Maybe just do one session a week on the testing surface to familiarise yourself with the timing, bounce etc. If its more Tib Post then usually high arch individuals or over pronaters put this area under stress causing it to inflam. Again you need to rid yourself of the inflammation however you may find you need to tap your ankles to reduce the amount of overpronation when you aren’t wearing shoes that support your feet and reduce it. Good luck and remember you have a short time period, are very fit and need to run only 70m so it probably best to concentrate on the key aspects you can heavily influence it that period that will impact on your performance.
Why go through all the trouble of trying to strengthen a small muscle (e.g. tibialis anterior) to withstand a huge load instead of just getting rid of the excess load? I mean that’s like trying to strengthen your biceps to get a bigger clean and jerk instead of correcting your pulling technique
Just ditch the overly cushioned high-tech Nike super hyper air zoom with springs and micro chips you’re currently wearing and go with the bare minimum: Vivo’s, Fivefingers, or if you must have Nike, go with the Free 3.0’s. If you have grass available you could definitely go bare foot, but be gradual in your training and listen to your body.
Flat feet are typically caused from weak tib anterior. Which then leads to shin splits.
Shoes are just one culprit. Weak posture is another. I have had ppl permanently rid themselves of shin pain in as little as two wks by working on lower leg posture imbalances and also getting neutral shoes.
Flat feet are typically caused from weak tib anterior. Which then leads to shin splits.
Shoes are just one culprit. Weak posture is another. I have had ppl permanently rid themselves of shin pain in as little as two wks by working on lower leg posture imbalances and also getting neutral shoes.
This is getting off the topic, but exactly, flat feet are a symptom of poor posture and shoes that prevent the muscles around the foot/ankle/shin to function normally (also nutritional deficiencies play a role, but that’s a whole different topic).
Just an update, had my run today. Good and terrible news.
I would’ve made it (7.55) except I pulled my hamstring really bad, so I’ll just wait till it heals and train to get a sub 7 next year. Not to mention I was probably the thickest guy there, cutting some fat will do me good.
I’m not surprised really.
Trying to get too much in such a short time - Pulled hamstring was just waiting to happen.
It takes time to adapt.
Lucky now you have have some Time to do it right for next year.
1st - fix the hamstring
So far I have just been RICE-ing it. It’s been about 48 hours nearly now, do you know when I should start massaging it etc–I see conflicting arguments for how to heal it everywhere. Yesterday I was basically limping cause it hurts too much–now I can walk almost normally, but I’d like to do anything possible to heal it.
Ya need more than a month to do it, otherwise, well, look what happened, Pulled hammie and NO time…
If you’re not looking at the time scale, and still wondering about the differences, then;
Racing into shape will generally require at least a solid Base to work off from.
Training into shape, slowly leads you faster and faster over time. A bit faster at a time.
Racing will be as fast as you can at the time. Not so with Training.
So that dorsiflexion thing that xlr8 posted pretty much cured my my shins on the front outer leg. However I still have a problem in the front inner leg. Any exercises to get that pain away?
That sounds like the inflamed periosteum of the tibia, a stress reaction…basically posterior shin splints, something which I’ve suffered from alot. IMO you need to ice this and rest untill the pain has subsided, and gradually ease yourself back into training.
