Kilometers and Shin Splints

Nan has been running on the JV cross-country team this fall. And, it appears from a good showing at his last race, that he will be running this weekend in the New England Cross Country Championships at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire.

Running when you have not been running much can hurt the legs. And sure enough, after a few weeks of training every day, our Nan has been icing his shins following his afternoon runs. The pain in his legs makes his dad, who is writing this sentence, remember sharp pains in the shins when doing a bit too much running on the road.

In spite of the sore legs, and the challenges of running in a race, Nan has been doing  well. He started out the season running over seven minutes a mile on the hills and dales of the cross country trails. In his last race, his pace was about 6:45 a mile. He also tells his dad that he ran a 5:45 mile in practice. His goal is to break 20 minutes in the meet this weekend–if, that is, his legs are not too sore.

For the past few years this duffer–the dad, or again the guy writing these sentences–was routinely humbled by the game of ice hockey while his kids  skated circles around him on the ice. At least in running he has a bit of skin in the game. Last week, in fact, dad told son that his personal record for a 5 kilometer road race was under 16 minutes. The son was impressed. Of course if the son ran for a year, and then trained with a team, it is more likely than not that the dad would lose bragging rights in this sport as well.