Shin splints. A couple weeks into running on the treadmill, I developed shooting pain in my shins whenever I ran. I voiced my concerns to my cousin, and she just urged me to tough it out till the muscles adjusted to our exercise. I naively agreed, and didn't alter my routine at all. Looking back, that wasn't the wisest or most informed decision I ever made, but at the time I was afraid that if I took a break from working out, I would never start back up. Eventually my shins adapted, but it took a lot of wincing and self-control to stay on the treadmill.
My second obstacle was blisters. I started out using a pair of running shoes that my parents had bought me a couple years prior. They were barely used, as I had rarely exposed them to any sort of surface other than the bottom of my closet. After a few runs, I developed a couple of pretty gnarly blisters on the bottom of my feet. Totally disgusting, right? I tried different socks (thick, thin) and I tried lacing up the shoes super tight or super loose. I refused to admit (though my then fiance insisted) that my almost brand-new shoes were the issue.
Finally, when I couldn't run because the bottoms of my feet were raw, I had to confess that I had a problem. Joe took me shoe-shopping, and we chose these bad boys.
Well, he chose the shoe, and I chose the color. If Joe hadn't been there to advise me, I would never have purchased such a thin, light shoe for $80. They hardly weigh anything, and you can bend them in half without exerting any effort. Definitely not the sturdy shoe that I had imagined. Little did I know, I would fall deeply in love with them during our first run together.
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