Running Help

Do you have a big gait? Often if runner's have a big stride and are not super skinny then they end up pounding much more than if they took smaller strides with a quicker pace. Often that is more efficient too...but when I am running and am feeling knee/hip/etc pain coming on I tend to shorten my stride and it works pretty well.

I'm just throwing a guess out there...

I think a C25K program would be good for you to adapt your body to running.  Shin splints are often a result of too much too fast I believe so be careful not too push too fast.  Patience is a virtue in this case even if not easy. 

Another thought, how many miles are your shoes?  They may need a replacement. 

How hard are you going for that mile run?  My guess is that you have room to dial back the intensity, and increase the distance.  You might feel like you aren't even running at all, just shuffling.  That's OK.

6'1'' 206lbs here.
What they said.
when i finally gave up trying to run fast and slowed way down with shorter, but quicker steps=sudden revelation.
To recap:
A) 90 left foot steps per minute is a great goal.  I've made it close, around 85.
B) This means much shorter steps.
C) SLOW DOWN, and up the distance.  Like 10min miles to start.  The treadmill is nice because you can force the pace.
D) Pretend you head is held straight up by a string to the ceiling.  This helps keep you from leaning and over-activating your shin muscles (forgive me for not using fancy names)

These are things that helped this clydesdale make big progress here in the first 9mo of training.
cheers,
steve

Thanks for everyone's input so far.
Here's a little more info & answers to couple questions some of y'all had for me.

First off, I found the article on this site titled " Aggressive Couch to 5K - 4 Month Running Program" I figured this would be a good program to start out with. But like I mentioned earlier, I'm a firefighter, so I am in pretty good shape already......so it's not about the cardio aspect of my endurance. I found it to be a good template for my running training.

Now to answer a couple questions. Yes, I do have a couple pairs of shoes that I only wear to the gym & they're only a couple months old. Not much wear & on them. But I am planning on going to a running store this weekend to have them analyze my running pattern & have them suggest a specific running shoe and inserts that will help with the shin splints.

I am running at a 6.5 pace on the treadmill, which is around a 9:30 mile. so I am pacing myself at this point. I've also done a bucnh of reading, on this website, &  found out athat monitoring my heart rate is a good place for a beginner to start. So I will be checking into a heart rate monitor, also

Anyone else who has more tips for me is more than welcome to post them.

Thanks again to everyone who has already commented

peronsonally,

i would say dont worry about hte HR monitor yet.

start running a bit, SLOWLY, and on softer surfaces (treadmill, grass, dirt trials, etc).

run every few days for a shorter amount of time, ice the shins after each run.

make sure you are in the right shoes for you (sounds like you are heading to do this, good).

once you start running, at your size you may run into a bit of pain at first, keep an eye on it, ice more, and make sure you are not running hard. short quick strides are better than bigger longer ones.

the goal here is to get used to running, just enough at a time to get your body used to it without pounding the crap out of it. will take longer for some than others.

your cardio is at/will improve MUCH faster than your legs will be able to, which is why people often run into shin/lower leg isuses a few weeks/months into upping running too fast.

Thanks for the info newbz.

The other problem I run into with shoes, is that I have fat feet. So finding top of the line running shoes is a bit of a pain.
Yes.......ice & ibuprofin are my shins best freinds some days.
I just started that running program this week. I actually put in 4 days of running this week instead of 3, as outlined in the running program. Based on the template for that workout I'm already running at week 3 or 4. So I'm already ahead of the game. And the best part is that I haven't had to ice my shins.....just popped a couple ibuprofin. I slowed my pace down to 6.5 & that seems to have helped out.