Shinsplinty woe

[andygates]

Runners - can you suggest tricks to speed up the recovery of shinsplints? I'm suffering bigtime and still need to get a tennish miler in before the Exeter Half. Any and all tips, tricks, drugs, old wives and scuttlebutt are welcome.

Comments

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Fair enough, I'll take it sanely. You're right, I *have* done it before and I know that if I take a couple of gels (for mile five and ten) then I don't bonk and it works, more or less.

I'll spend more time in the pool then - need to work on the swim for that bloody tri, and it's non-loadbearing, non-jarring which can only help while keeping my CV condition up. Ta.

[skean.livejournal.com]

Tri is truly a daunting kit fest. I am just trying to figure out my shopping list and so far it seems to consist of:

-Tri suit (oh so sexy)
-Goggles (proper ones, not from the vending machine)
-Bike (how cheap a bike can I get away with? Down to £495 so far)
-Bike shoes (which I always fall off in)
-Bike helmut (or will my MTB one do?)
-Bike computer add on
-Elastic shoe laces
-Race belt (which they all reckon is worth it, but who knows)

[andygates.livejournal.com]

* I got some tri shorts - I'll pull my running singlet on at T1, can't afford a suit without at least a season's commitment and this is a dabble. £35ish and rather nice. And I'd look bellicacious in a tri suit - at least this season!

* Swimmers with contact lenses already have proper gogs. Nya-ha-ha ;)

* I've seen the bike Paul has tri'd on. It's, er, collectable - an old ten-speed. Like Lance says, it's not about the bike. Elaine's was entry-level for a new bike, about £250 IIRC. For some serious racing, I'd look at maybe the Specialized Allez and its Trek / Felt / etc etc equivalents. Remember to save some of your budget for tri bars (and to get race-legal ones!). And if you don't have one, get a good floorstanding pump - the one thing that makes *any* bike faster on the road is hard tyres.

* Shoes - if you want proper clip-in shoes, they start from about £40. You'd optionally (but probably) want to get pedals to match (from £20), otherwise toeclips. I *highly* recommend clipless pedals.

* Any kitemark lid is acceptable, I'll be riding in my M1, which is a very MTB one.

* Computers are cheap, from £15. These days, most have the basic functions you need. I still have a fetish for the venerable CatEye Mity3, incredibly reliable.

* I've gone with lace-lock toggles and cropped the existing laces instead. Don't like sproingy laces. I'll pay someone to film my transitions so you can see how bad an idea this really is.

* Race belt? Three quid. Popcorn.