Railroad Trail

After experiencing some hip-flexor pain on Sunday, I planned to run up to 10 miles today or until the flexors started to hurt, whichever came first. I’ve previously dealt with hip-flexor pain by NOT running up hills, and even have a couple of flat running routes near the house just for that purpose. The Gateway Trail, within driving distance, is also pretty flat, but my favorite dirt-road trail by the railroad tracks is flattest of all.

So that’s what I did. Drove to a central point, ran 2 ½ miles one way, then back, intending to run 2 ½ miles the other way and back. But after the first five miles I could feel the right hip flexors already, so I ran one more mile and stopped. The pain didn’t get very bad in that last mile, but I think it was best to stop. I’ll try another flat four miles tomorrow and see what happens.

Six miles in 57:04, pace 9:30. Perfect pace, except that this is a dirt trail which takes a little more energy than a blacktop road, so I suppose it was equivalent to 9:00 or so. If I judged by breathing, it was even more work than that. Warm weather, 69 degrees and moderate humidity. A train passed by as I ran - I love that little road.



Recent breakfast: Gluten-free oatmeal with organic flame raisins and dried cranberries, banana, blueberries, organic nectarine, organic pear, mango, organic walnuts.