I wanted to firstly touch on a comment made by one of my followers about injury, weather and luck. In my previous diary post I mentioned that an individual makes their own luck through hard work, dedication and perseverance, a follower who contributes significantly on this blog and has giving some great guidance from both the mental and physical side of things mentioned that there are things that are outside of your control such as injury and the weather. I agree to an extent, as for freak injuries I agree that this can come down to luck, e.g. a rolled ankle from an uneven surface but for preventable injuries for example shin splints from running there are actions that you can take through good planning and risk management that reduce the likelihood of that injury from occurring. I spoke with my best friend back home in England about my journey and goal of running the London Marathon next year, having known my previous injuries through my continual moaning when I was younger, fitter and played sport he advised that I did some research on exercises that I can do to help prevent shin splints (I take his advice seriously seeing he has a degree in Sports Science from Loughborough University – other good resources I have used include http://foothealth.about.com/od/exercisefeet/ss/ShinSplintExerc.htm and http://gizmodo.com/5902699/banish-shin-splints-forever-with-one-magical-exercise that provide good prevention exercises). I took his advice and have managed to reduce the effect of shin splints, which means I have been able to continue training, if I wouldn’t have undertaken this risk management and planning approach I would not have identified the potential risk and put in place mitigation factors. As for the weather, it is beautiful and sunny here in Almaty and it is great to do my training in the evening sunshine however I know how vicious the Kazakh winters are and know that I won’t be able to run outside, as soon as the weather turns I will move my training indoors to the local gym adjacent to my apartment. This means that I can continue training in a good environment minimising my exposure to the weather conditions and icy roads in the winter. I think that the risk of bad luck can be minimised through careful consideration, planning and risk management.
I had another good day, no problems or issues, you can do anything if you have the right mindset and planned approach.
The DMMD Lifestyle Revolution 
Well done on the forward thinking. Shin splints have never been a problem for me but I did pick up a knee injury somehow two weeks before my last London Moonwalk. I finished the marathon thanks to painkillers and a knee support from about fourteen miles. As for the weather, I live in England so I have had to learn to cope with whatever nature throws. Heavy rain is the one I hate most because I wear glasses so end up more or less blind. As you are going for the London marathon I’d suggest doing some wet weather training. You’d be surprised what a difference the rain can make and in London you just never know!
Will take your suggestion about preparing for running in the London rain, our autumns here can get wet so will make sure I do a few runs in the rain to see what problems it throws up. I would assume that the problems would be trainers an d clothes rubbing and unsteady footing – what problems do you experience when in the rain?
My main problem is seeing, as I said. I don’t see we’ll without the glasses and when they’re wet I don’t see at all which is problematic. Also wet feet often leads to blisters and, if it is also hot, sweaty rain in the eyes is painful! When it’s colder the wetness leads to chills, even when working quite hard. This is usually cold hands, feet, thighs and face. Of course this can cause muscle problems. I’m sorry if I’m making it sound awful. It it really is best to be prepared as the UK weather is notorious. A thin waterproof coat is a good idea as is a hat of some kind.
I went out for my walk in the rain and wind last night – that was difficult! Getting in practice for London lol
Amazing what difference the weather can make eh? Well done 🙂
Thanks – I’ll keep this in mind. I didn’t think I was having much shin splint trouble until I tried to attend Zunba again ( something I did quite a bit last winter). I basically found I couldn’t bounce – my shins were too tight. Also, my 15 year old was in track last spring and had tons of shin splint troubles. Cross country (long distance running sport) is about to start and I know he isn’t as prepared as he should be. Thanks!
Lets hope those exercises help both you and your son 🙂