Speed Endurance for 10k?

I had a "dull" sort of pain a few inches below my kneecap round towards the inside of the shin on my left leg.  It wasn't sore to press, but it was sore when putting weight on my left foot.

When I say "sore" it was way down the 1 to 10 scale.  Probably the worst it got was about 3, so more "uncomfortable" than sore.

I'd convinced myself it was a stress fracture because it didn't feel muscular or anything like that.  The GP was sure it was just a bit of muscle tissue damage (the muscles on the front of the shin "coming away" from the bone), which is the first step towards a stress fracture according to the google "research" I did.  So, if I'd kept going with the same intensity, I'd have been risking a stress fracture.

Anti-inflammatory tablets from the doc seem to have already sorted it though.  I'll not run for another few days though just to be sure I'm not going to aggravate it.

Mull of Kintyre HM www.mokrun.com (Unless something goes remarkably tits up, I will get a PB.  My previous PB from 3 years ago is 1:54:xx after no training.  I ran a comfortable 1:40:xx in training about 4 or 5 weeks ago).

Fraserburgh 10k https://sites.google.com/site/fraserburghrunning/ a couple of weeks later.  It will be more difficult to hit a PB here because of the proximity to the HM and only about 12 weeks or so after taking 4 minutes off my previous 10k PB.

You seem a bit of a 'distance tart', by which I mean you do not focus on one distance (or terrain?). I quite enjoy doing different distances (terrains)... part of me says it stops me going stale and training on different surfaces helps prevent injury. But I cannot help but think it stops me from really good times.

But I think it is better to finish within the top xx% in terms of time or placing rather than going for a time... Having only a few fast flat local courses encourages this approach. That said I am proud of my pb's.....

Good luck in your races

ps was the Dr's diagnosis based on examination or x-ray (scan)?

I'm new to running (as in new to taking it "seriously") this year.  I really enjoyed the 10k so that may turn out to be my focus, but there's a lack of local races here, so keeping things varied and going for marathons may keep me focussed on longer term goals.  10k racing on its own may lead to boredom as there are only 2 or 3 races local to me per year.  Churning out full 12-16 training programmes just for one 10k race all the time may get a bit tedious.

I don't know - I'll see how the HM goes and then see how the marathon goes later in the year.  I've got unfinished business with both distances after running them on shit training in the past and having not very good PBs...

The doc's diagnosis was based on just an examination.  He was definitive that if there was any fracture, him pressing down on the bone would have hurt and I wouldn't be able to walk about comfortably.  The quick working of the anti-inflammatory has me believing him.

Awesome - well done Andy!  Winning a 10k (or any race) is way beyond me at the moment... maybe one day though