The annual “Abington 5K Fun Run”  gave me a great opportunity to both get back into running and support student clubs/organizations. Students paid $5 and alumni/friends paid $35 to register.

But if you’ve ever taken a break from running then you know what I mean when I mention shin splints.

Shin splints cause pain you might feel after walking or standing for a period of time. That pain is microtears in your muscle and bone tissue on your shins. Normally it’s not an alarming issue, but leaving it ignored could lead to debilitating injuries.

Runners usually deal with shin splints after taking a period of time off from running.  I started my break 9 years ago, and my shins were kicking the tires after a minute or two of jogging.

Some remedies for shin splints included hip strengthening workouts, stretching, and fixing your running technique. For others, their running sneakers were the issue. What worked for me were toe raises, which help with strengthening both your shins and ankles.

After constant strengthening for about 3 months, I was up to the point where I was able to hit 3 miles at a 10 minute pace without much pain, and this happened at the perfect time.

The “Abington 5K Fun Run” helped fund both Athletics and CAPS programs, and it was a good chance for me to get back in the game.

The top 10 finishers were given a variety of gifts from clothing to gift cards, so top 10, specifically top 3 was what I was gunning for. This meant that chances are I’d have to jog through the entire run.

Running in the rain normally isn’t fun. The Fun Run was different though, at least for me. This was my first run since doing the half marathon in 2013 and I was more than excited to finish it.

The run started off in the Athletic Building parking lot and went around the neighborhood. If you’ve driven around Penn State Abington, you know this wasn’t an easy trail to run. The neighborhood is full of hills; that added with the rain didn’t exactly make this run easy.

This was completely different from running on a treadmill. My 3 mile 10 minute pace was on a flat surface. No hills, no rain, light clothing. On top of that I made the cardinal sin of doing heavy cardio playing basketball the day before, so the odds were stacked against me.

The 1st mile and a half was decent. The hills were rough, but my pace stayed consistent. Once we hit the 2nd mile though is when the shin splints and fatigue kicked in. By the 2.5 mile mark, I was hanging on by a thread.

So I stopped jogging. It was only for around 30 seconds, but the goal was to jog through it. After this period I ended up finishing the rest of the run with a strong sprint towards the end, and got 5th place.

My reward was a Target gift card which I’ll definitely be using tog et some new workout gear. We were all also given snacks, refreshments and Biofreeze to help with recovery.

The Fun Run was a blast, and I met a few people who loved running just as much as I do. Anyone who enjoys running or working out in general should make it a goal next year. I’ll be there for sure with 1st place in mind.