I started out with five minutes of walking, and I felt my hip flexor immediately. I pushed four fingers into that spot and just kind of massaged it while walking. By the time I got to the park, I felt fine, so I tried a short slow jog. No problem. I picked up pace a little. No problem. I ran to the other end of the park. STILL no problem. And then, I looked down the long road to Woodsom Farm.
Sure, why not?
The farm is beautiful. It’s town property and well groomed. There are tractor trails all over the sloping hills, sweeping meadows, and forests. When I arrived, a woman was just taking her two beautiful labs out for a walk. I passed them and saw a rabbit just standing around ten feet in front of me. It didn’t move until the dew from my running shoes splashed it. Good thing I got there before the dogs.
The only part that hurt on the run were the downhills, so I did the smart thing and tried to run uphill as much as possible. Thankfully, in my town (and especially on this farm, it turns out) hills are not in short supply.
Not wanting to *really* tempt fate, I decided to stick to the mileage I planned, and so I turned right and ran the last long field distance towards the road back to home. I met another runner who was still just plowing the road, and I almost said, “What the hell are you running out here with the cars for? There’s good field just begging for you.” But hey, to each their own. I startled my second rabbit then.
The farm’s property goes across the street evidently, so when I looked down by a little manmade pond near the big tractor that must’ve cut these lovely paths, I nearly booted a rabbit like kicking a pebble. He took off like a bullet, and I burst out laughing.
When I hit my mileage and was close enough to home, I started walking to cool down. Immediately, I felt my hip flexor again. It turns out that my long walking strides are much more taxing on those muscles than my shorter running stride. But what the heck does that say about my running method? Something to look into, I guess.
So, a great run, beautiful scenery, and a nice morning without pain.
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