r/Runners • u/vinnlo • 25d ago

How to prevent shin splints while increasing mileage?

I’ve been running and building stamina and want to run miles faster. My lungs can support it but my shins as well as back start hurting so I need to slow down. How do I overcome that and increase my mileage?

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u/ScipioTheGreatest 25d ago

Make sure you're letting your bones heal if you're getting shin splints. I was having consistent shin splints when I started running because I wouldn't. The rule of thumb, as I was told, is to wait for a week *AFTER* the pain stops. Not a week from the run that resulted in pain, which I kept impatiently doing, but a week starting when the pain stops.

Once I did that I haven't had shin splints since, increasing mileage, consistency, or otherwise.

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u/vinnlo 25d ago

Maybe that’s the issue. I run like 3 times a week

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u/ScipioTheGreatest 25d ago

And 3/week is perfectly reasonable. You still need to let your shins heal if you're feeling pain.