a shin splint...really?

You only ran 20 miles in July, but already ran 76 in August. That probably has a lot to do with it.

Cut back on the running, ice, stretch, massage, etc.

From a massage therapist that works on lots of athletes I would say ditto to pretty much Kerry's whole post.

As to your massage question, I and many of my compatriots are dubious about the performance benefits of getting light work done for a tune up.  That isn't to say that the work isn't beneficial for stress reduction or if it is a stretching and active motion session.  However, what most therapists consider a "light massage" is pretty much just there to relax the person.

Personally, there are two types of work I have both done, and received, prior to races that work out really well.  One is a good deep tissue sports massage at least 72 hours pre-race.  The goal in this session is usually to work out any nagging issues and leave the muscles as fresh as possible for race day.

The other is what you see mostly at the professional level.  These are sport tune ups in the hours or minutes prior to an event.  The therapist aids the athlete in getting warmed up and the muscles primed for action in shorter events or in refocusing and getting "tuned in" for more endurance style events.  Obviously this is a bit more uncommon at the age group level because someone (or group) is paying the cost of the therapist to be there for pretty much a full day.

Joshua

x2.

That's a lightweight, cushioned show...appropriate for someone under 170lbs with high arches, or who underpronates. Is that you? If not, those are probably the wrong shoes.

Also...what Lauren said...

Roughly 3 years ago I had shin splints so bad I could barely walk. I know the culprit was trying to do too much too fast. Time and rest was the only way to get over it. Although I sometimes have minor twingess I haven't had a problem since.

One thing I found that really helped was compression on my shins. I personally used those knee wraps you pull over(Wall Mart) that were a size too small so they were tight on my shins. I immediately felt a LOT better for walking at least.

Thanks for all the great replys.  I decided to wait on the massage until next week.  I have off for two days now before sunday's race/run.  Icing the last 2 days has felt good.  I will continue that.

The shoes could be the culprit, but it's hard to tell as the new shoes correlate with my new milage so it could just be the stress from the new milage. I weigh 178 and have low arches, with slight overpronation (normal).  Perhaps next week I will go back to my asics for a week or two and see if that helps.  I hope it's that easy.  Although the asics feel heavy in comparison, as those were my over 200lb shoes from a few months ago :-)

Calfs are tight as well, so I will start some more stretching as suggested.

No, SPs are not something you should have to look forward to as you ramp up your mileage

From your replies below, I am guessing that your issue comes from "Too Much, Too Fast" and your tight calves are a great indicator of the extra stress. (At least Tight Calves are an early warning sign for me)

As long as you are sensible about increasing your mileage (Follow the 10% Rule and schedule regular cutback weeks) and are good about following good shoe hygiene, it is not something you should have to deal with. (Carefully Track Mileage and rotate your shoes)

Massage, Ice (Either Ice Bath or Ice Packs or both), Some rest when they the shins get tender and you will be fine. Be sure to carefully track your shoe mileage and rotate several pairs of shoes especially as your mileage increases.

Keep up the great running and take care of those shins

Generally shin splints are related to weekly mileage vs. BMI. The more you increase the mileage, the less you should be overweighted otherwise shin splints is around the corner waiting you. The same for calves and other injuries.

Another cause for that is that you are running with the wrong shoes and you increase weekly mileage.

Just throwing in some possibility to explain that...I don't know you.

Kerry, I couldnt have put it better myself!

As a physiotherapist, these are the exact recommendations I'd be giving my patients. spot on and keep up the good work