I've had a number of friends ask me about how overcame shin splints and I wanted to post a link to the stretches I do after each run. walking.about.com/od/str
etching/a/shinstretch.htm

Also, I can't stress enough the night and day difference a properly fitted pair of running shoes can make. Getting a consultation done at a running store usually doesn't cost much if any more than a regular shoe store does. Many of you will remember the running store did not have the "right" pair of shoes for me, although I tried two different pairs of shoes and they even worked with me to customize my shoes with foam. Tthey were able to analyze my gait and gave me the information I needed to ultimately find the right pair at Roadrunner Sports.

When I first truly ventured into running I also had to take ibuprofen, ice after running and wear something called the Strassburg Sock www.thesock.com/ . The Strassburg Sock really helps stretch the calf muscles and was recommended to me by my local running store. Shin splints are the result of excessively tight calf muscles from running on uneven ground, surfaces that are very hard or hills. The Sock also helps with Plantar Fasciitis.

I hope this may help some of you with your shin splints. They are a nasty ordeal to work through but they are treatable. If you are like me, you will experience a lessening degree of them until you finally complete a run and it dawns on you that you made it through the run without them.

Patrick