marathon running

[SubXinu]

it's funny you say shin splints occur by hitting the heel. i've read that it apprears more in most with the stepping of the toe, due to tibialis anterior pulling away from the bone, which I felt was the case for myself. guess it's debatable in running circles.

No, the contrary; I only experience shin splints when I'm NOT hitting with my heels when I land. I used to literally suffer after most runs because of a habit I had of running up on my toes (great for sprinters but horrible for long range runners). It took quite a bit of work to teach myself to hit with my heals but, since fixing this problem, I haven't seen a shin splint in years!

[doc]

You may not have had shin splints solely because your tibia's are more conditioned now. I can't imagine doing any sort of long distance running without landing on your heels; seems like a lot of stress to the lower leg to me, running on your toes, but, hell, I haven't run much in years, so what do I know. Doesn't seem like the body was "designed" to run on the balls of your feet; the heel is there for a reason.

Shin splints can come from various causes, some people think that they are just microfractures from the constant pounding and compressive stress forces imparted upon them from running. You can get stretching and tears of the tendons that attach to the bones; you can also get those same tendons pulling out small bits of bone where they attach.

Personally, I think you can get a variant of "shin" splints in your forearm bones, from hitting a makiwara, which I used to do, or, working on a muk jong. It's all basically the same, bruising or microfractures of the bone structure.

[LeiYunFat]

In terms of nutrition, nurtrient-rich foods first, calories second. You need to keep your cals up, but a lot of really active athletes let that fact take precedence over their overall nutrition. As a result, they'll eat a lot of shitty foods, instead of a lot of good foods.

General, I know, but it could be something to remember next time you're out buying your groceries.