Shin Splint

I've never had shin splints before, so I am assuming that this pain in my right shin is exactly that. Funny, my left shin feels fine. Both calves are a little sore, but I will definitely have to be stretching out before running from now on. I knew I should have been, but I've been lazy. I just got back from a (short) 2 mile run on the treadmill over at the office, and now have this nagging pain. It keeps gobbling up my attention. I still need to do my crunches for today. I decided to skip the Tebata today.. I might save it for Saturday. I'm not sure what Mason will be having me run on the weekends. I really had to drag myself to do my running today, and today is even the easiest day of the week! I had to push myself to finish the 2 miles which is sad. The kitchen has been calling to me all morning. I just feel the need to snack on horrible horrible junk food. I tried to refrain the best I could. I ended up having more apple cinnamon pancakes in an effort to calm the cravings. I don't think it worked very well.

This is just the very beginning of this battle, which worries me. I did pretty well eating last week, but made up for it on the weekend by eating everything in sight. So far this week I've been doing pretty well with the 5-6 mini-meals per day, but I could use more veggies. At this point, I am officially out of fruit! :( Mason has been going through bananas like crazy. I wanted to get to the grocery store either yesterday or today to stock up on some healthy, whole foods, but I'm still waiting on my paycheck to come through. As of yesterday, it hadn't been processed yet. It takes about 2 days after being approved before the funds are direct deposited. Pay day is officially Friday, but Wednesday is the latest I've ever been paid. That's adding a little bit of stress to my plate. And with my work schedule changing, I will have to be working out after work, not in the mornings as I prefer. I always seem to have more energy, more motivation in the morning when I wake up and have a light snack. The later in the day I wait to work out, it seems the more lethargic I am, and the less drive I have to see it through.

The pain in my shin seems to be calming down a little :)

Meal one: 7:15am (+270 cals)
1/2 c ff cottage cheese (+80 cals)
ham (+70 cals)
1 apple cinnamon pancake (+100 cals)
dab of apple sauce (+20 cals)

Meal two: 10:10am (+200 cals)
2 apple cinnamon pancakes (+200 cals)
no protein with this meal! :(

Exercise: 11:15am (-226 cals)
Ran/walked 2 miles on the treadmill (-226 cals)

The goal Mason set for me today was to run the two miles at a pace that was twice as fast as the 5 miles I did yesterday. He originally said I should be running at a 6 minute mile pace, but bumped it up to 7.5 minute mile pace when I said I couldn't do that. I didn't want to tell him that I have never been able to run that fast. I've never been a runner. The last time I was running on a regular basis (weekly) was 12 years ago. I was in a lot better shape back then, and was averaging about 10 minute miles.
I have never ran on a daily basis. I started out the two miles on #8, which Mason said was the 7.5 minute mile pace. Once I was up to speed, I knew there was no way I would be able to keep up that pace for 2 miles. I ended up doing mostly #6 (something like 12 minute mile pace, I think) and #4 which is a fast walk, but not a speed walk. I will admit I let my lethargy get the best of me: I paused the machine in order to get some water a couple times. I ended the two miles at 20:50, which averages to 10:25 per mile. Considering how much I walked, I'm pretty proud of that.
My average per mile for the five miles yesterday was 12:28. Twice as fast would have been 6:14 per mile. Damn. I would love to be able to run a six minute mile. I think my ultimate goal is the five minute mile. I can do it, but it will take time.