One Tough 5.2

I was on call last night, i had to go in to work at 4am this morning and just stayed at work after that. during lunch i was too tired to run and one of my clients brought me some jambalaya. i skipped the run at lunch and HAD to get it in after work. i worked until 6:15pm and i was going to try a new place to run. i went to the clarksville greenway. i'd been wanting to try it for a while and one of my co-workers suggested it the other day. it is about 15 minutes from the clinic, on the way home. i headed there, knowing it would be dark when i finished. i had asked my co-worker if there were big hills on this trail and she said no. however, i heard there was at least one big hill. that was an understatement by far. there were two big hills and two huge hills. the huge hills were very hard to even go down. they were so steep you couldn't see the bottom of the hill until you were 1/3 of the way down it. the trail was nice. several other runners and walkers. however, there were so many trees my gps wouldn't work for part of the run. the sign said it was 2.6 miles one way. i knew my gps was messing up because i knew i started at a pretty good pace and it took me over 5 minutes to run the first 1/2 mile. then it took me 3 minutes to run the next 1/2 mile. something was way off. when i finished, what should have been around 5.2 miles my gps hit 5.0 miles. anyway, my shins were really killing me for most of the run, then i tried running more upright and concentrating on rolling my foot from heel to toe and then (after the huge hill) i slowed down a bit and my shin stopped hurting. after i got home my shins and legs felt great. i also think that my shin problems may be caused by the boots i wear at work. they are comfortable but do not have any ankle or leg support. i am trying a different pair of boots from now on that lace-up. i am also gonna try the $50 insoles i bought. i am starting the weight lifting part of my workout again, it is supposed to be a key part of the training.

i don't have accurate splits since my gps didn't work.

thought of the day: before going out on a new running path, check it out in the daytime, it may hurt you if you don't(even though i was glad to get some good hills in) or leave you in the dark (with lots of trees covering the path, it was pitch black after sunset). but i think the new path will be good when it is sunny due to all the shade. i also saw several deer within just a few yards of me. oh, and if you are going out on a public path after dark, have a light so you don't run into people and they don't run into you. i tend to huff and puff so i usually stay pretty safe.