Stopping By The Woods

Today was the first day I ran since the Hangover Classic on Jan. 1. I ran a six-mile route between Seneca and Cherokee parks in Louisville, KY. The weather was cold and rainy. I got there around 7:45 a.m. and there were a whole bunch of runners already out and about, more than usual I think. There was a church group running, plus maybe some new runners trying to make good on their own New Year’s Resolutions.

My friends Linda and Laura were there, beginning their increase in mileage training for the Flying Pig marathon on May 4. The Flying Pig also has a half-marathon, and I would make plans to do that race if it did not occur so soon after the Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon on April 26, which I am planning to do. Linda and Laura did 12 miles today–double what I did. I would have loved to join them in going that distance, but my hip flexor injury continues, and I am trying to be good to myself.

Dealing with injury is something all runners do. Every runner I talk with has a pain story. Most of us, more than just one. We all like to complain a bit, but we all keep on running. All during the run, the hip flexor pain was noticeable. I would say about a five out of 10, ten being really bad. I tried to use mental imagery and also let the songs on my iPod distract me, and it worked for the most part. But the pain is definitely there, on the right side.

It’s an odd sensation; it mostly feels like it’s “locked,” like there is a limited range of motion. Kinda strange. I figured my knees would get me a long time before a hip problem. Or plantar fasciitis, which I have dealt with before. But this thing sure is nagging. I will continue to deal with it. I can’t complain too loudly, because I have sort of slipped on doing my exercises over the past week. The last thing I want to do is stop running, but for now, scaling back the mileage somewhat is the right thing to do. [Hopefully I am not sounding like a broken record, but I guess I need to convince myself I am taking the right course of action because I want to run every day!] Even my pace was probably a little bit too fast today, but I was sort of motivated by the cold rain. Makes you want to get it done a little bit faster than usual. Garmin numbers: