Hi,

I am slowly training for my first half marathon which is on 10/10, but have just now started getting signs of shin splits in my left shin. They are not at the "unbearable" point yet, but I know how quickly they can get there- I was a long time soccer player and perpetually out of shape at the start of pre-season. Oh for the days of bouncing back quickly... I have a long ways to go with my training and I'm worried time off completely will destroy my chances at finishing my half, but I also know if I allow my shins to get worse I will definitely not be able to finish! If I had more time, I would easily take a week or 2 off, but with only 7 weeks left to train, I'm torn, and in search of advice.

A little about my training/background:

I had a base of 16-18 miles per week for about a year; pain free, mostly just jogging 3-4 miles 5x week at a comfortable (slow) pace for weight/health management. Then I decided to try for the half marathon and get serious.

My typical training week now looks like this:

Monday: Recovery run (I should say prep / loosen up run... my joints are too stiff and achy after the weekend to work out effectively) - 3 miles, easy.

Tuesday: Long run. I've been adding a 1/2 mile to this almost each week.

Wednesday: Hills - either 3-4 mile foothill workout, or hill repeats, never more than 4 miles total.

Thursday: 4 mile jog / 10K pace run

Friday: Speed work - mile or 1/2 mile repeats, total of 4 miles max.

Saturday I usually swim or hike (or fall asleep on the beach).

Sunday = rest.

Sometimes I will take Thursday off as well, but get in an easy 3-4 mile jog on saturday or sunday morning instead, but that's the general idea of my plan. I do strength training 3x/week as well, along with plenty of stretching, and some plyo's from soccer days.

I've been more or less following this increased routine for the last 9-10 weeks now, putting me at an 8.5 mile long run. I was comletely pain free and loving the increased work until about 2 weeks ago, when my left shin began showing signs of shin splints, mostly in the lower interior. I've begun icing after runs, and making sure I really do all my shin excersizes and IT band stretches and foam roller for the duration, so I was disappointed to feel the first twinge, but not too concerned.

I dropped my long run back to 5 miles and skipped all speed work, and scaled back to a total of 12 miles last week. Thursday it was moderately painful, but again, nothing horrible. I took Friday, Saturday, and

Sunday completely off, and then did a slow, easy "prep" run yesterday for 3 miles, only to have my shin pain present even worse than last week. Today it is officially in real *pain*.

I'm not sure how much to back off, and for how long, in order to let my shin recover, without losing the progress I have made, and without missing my half on 10/10. 7 weeks is such an awkward time out to have to deal with an injury, and clearly cutting back last week wasn't much help!

Any advice would be helpful!

Thank you!