I had a club race today and learned one important thing; I've made a huge tactical error in that I haven't been running bricks lately (I'm lazy). Anyway, I experienced a problem today that I've had before, but it seemed more pronounced today. The problem is that my shins hurt like hell for at least 3 miles after T2. The pain just feels like a major tightness in the muscles in the shin. I have the CA 1/2 coming up in three weeks and am concerned about this being a problem. So, any suggestions on what I can do to help prevent or minimize this? I'm definitely going to work on running off the bike for the next few weeks, but don't have too much time. Is there anything I may be able to do in T2 to address the problem? I was thinking of possibly quickly slapping on a slathering of Icy-Hot, but I have no idea if that would make any difference. Anyway, I'd appreciate whatever suggestions you have.
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Re: T2 and Pain Prevention [Pooks]
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I've had this happen to me once, it was the first race of the season, too. For me, it wasn't that I hadn't been doing bricks, it was because I pulled up with the toes so much on the bike that my Anterior Tibialis muscles (the one that runs along the front of your lower leg, right along the outside of your shinbone) were fried. I could hardly lift my toes toward my knees when running. These muscles got hard as rocks and ached so bad I had to stop running several times.
I don't think Icy-hot or any of those counter-irritants will do anything for the problem...those types of treatments just attempt to mask pain by overloading the nerve impulses being sent from the area...much the same way that applying pressure to an area that's been injured decreases the perceived pain somewhat. The injury is still there, and you won't be able to run well.
If you and I did the same thing and overworked those muscles, the answer is to either condition them by repeating the actions that caused the problem in training conditions, OR change your pedal stroke a bit. Simply pointing my toes down a little, instead of trying to pick my toes up toward my shin, would have helped my condition not to get so bad. But, why was I pulling up with my toes enough to cause the problem?
For me, this problem was a sign I hadn't ridden in my race position hard and/or long enough...it wasn't a running deficiency...although it sure hurt my run time. PCs had this effect on me at first, too. My Ant. Tibs. hurt as bad as my hip flexors. NOW, I know they won't be a problem on the bike or run...I've trained them...on every upstroke on each leg...they are ready!
Hope this helps!
Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)
I don't think Icy-hot or any of those counter-irritants will do anything for the problem...those types of treatments just attempt to mask pain by overloading the nerve impulses being sent from the area...much the same way that applying pressure to an area that's been injured decreases the perceived pain somewhat. The injury is still there, and you won't be able to run well.
If you and I did the same thing and overworked those muscles, the answer is to either condition them by repeating the actions that caused the problem in training conditions, OR change your pedal stroke a bit. Simply pointing my toes down a little, instead of trying to pick my toes up toward my shin, would have helped my condition not to get so bad. But, why was I pulling up with my toes enough to cause the problem?
For me, this problem was a sign I hadn't ridden in my race position hard and/or long enough...it wasn't a running deficiency...although it sure hurt my run time. PCs had this effect on me at first, too. My Ant. Tibs. hurt as bad as my hip flexors. NOW, I know they won't be a problem on the bike or run...I've trained them...on every upstroke on each leg...they are ready!
Hope this helps!
Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)
Thanks for the reply, and I think you nailed it. I was riding with what (for me) was a slow/powerful ankleing pedal stroke. The thing is that I've been riding long miles like this for quite a while, and I don't think it was a duration/intensity issue. I'm off to do a 90/10 mile brick today so I'll see what happens...