{Monday Runday} 6 miles!! And why I love my Garmin.

I ran twice last week which has been my typical schedule for the past two months.  Although 2 days doesn’t seem like a lot, I have been able to up my mileage from 3.1 miles to 6 miles in a matter of one month! So I must be doing something right!  I tend to struggle when I take less of a break in between runs because my legs threaten to get shin splints even with my compression leggings (that was a really long sentence, geez! And I call myself a blogger…)  Maybe it’s because I need to change my mileage that I do each of those days.  Maybe I try to go to far.  I don’t know.  But I gotta figure it out because this week, I start my real half marathon training and that requires 3 times/week. When I get back to Texas someday, (I’ll explain that in a different post), I am going to cross train with some strength training.

My run on Tuesday was quite boring.  I ran out the door and down the highway 1.5 miles then turned around doing a total of 3 miles.  My legs felt like a million pounds each.  Not sure what was up with that.  Although there were very little hills this time, it was a very difficult run for some reason.  Some of my runner friends have told me that I should expect to have days  like that.  I think part of it is that after my previous 3 runs, I had not iced my shins so my shins were hurting and maybe my stretching wasn’t as good as it could have been post run.  Whatever it was, it was not one of my best runs.  I did the 3 miles without stopping but I felt crappy during that entire run 🙁

Saturday’s run, however, was just plain awesome!!  I did 6 miles at Castlewood.  I can’t even describe how much I love trail running! Be prepared for a picture heavy post 😉

I ran all over the freaking place, sometimes twice!

I couldn’t handle it.  I had to take a picture of the little bridge!

I love the unevenness of it.  It makes it more exciting.  I nearly bit it like 10 times. 😉

Isn’t that beautiful?

Remember how I said I feel like Katniss sometimes?  Here is why 😉

I ran along a creek for awhile until it suddenly ended.

After retracing my steps, I realized I was suppose to go through the creek.  I guess the drought prevented me from having to swim across 😉

Love all the switchbacks!  Made me want to mountain bike so bad!

I ran uphill for most of my 6 miles. Phew! But the view was worth it 🙂 Remember how I said the Garmin was totally awesome?  Here are the details I uploaded from my Garmin after this run.  This is why I love my Garmin 😉

I love the way it analyzes all the details for you. Don’t be fooled by my garmin’s estimate of calorie burn.  My HR monitor (with chest strap) says I burned 650 kcals.

I loooooooooooooove my garmin ! Especially because it breaks down each mile. My pace was slower than when I just run on the road, but its to be expected for me with all those hills.

I had an elevation gain of 707 feet total.  Wow!!!  It was such an awesome run despite those giganto hills and the view was worth it!

 Do you trail run or road run?  Which do you prefer?  Share in the comments!