17/02/2026
Recently been treating this legend.
This weekend, he smashed a PB half marathon in 1:21 — but it wasn’t as smooth as it sounds.
Eight weeks ago, Al came to me with a nasty case of shin stress caused by a rapid increase in mileage. He’d been managing it for four months before seeing me — it was painful even to walk, let alone run.
Although this type of injury is common, if not treated properly, it can easily put your running on hold.
So here’s what we did with Al 👇
First, we stripped it all back — reduced mileage, lowered intensity — but didn’t stop completely. We found a comfortable pace that caused minimal pain and used that as our baseline.
We ran a series of functional tests, set up the initial rehab phase, and got to work.
After two weeks, pain had significantly reduced.
From there, we began to increase the pace — progressing from a relaxed 6:00 to around 5:20 per kilometre. Testing results showed huge improvements — proof that he was putting in the work, building robustness, and increasing tolerance to load. We matched that by progressing his rehab program.
Eventually, we hit a bit of a plateau — which is totally normal in any rehab journey.
We sat down, talked it through, made a plan, and got back on track. Sometimes a bit of reflection together can reveal the simple things we’ve overlooked.
After another solid two weeks, we entered a focused four-week block dedicated to building pace for race day. Mileage remained consistent throughout.
And guess what? He absolutely smashed it.
When the hard work pays off, there’s honestly nothing better.
⸻
Struggling with pain or an injury that won’t go away?
You don’t have to push through it alone.
Come into the clinic — we’ll assess, plan, and get you back running at your best.
