Still being tested

I took myself out for the second test run yesterday.  Three days had passed since the first test run and my aches and pains were much diminished, so it seemed safe to give it another go.  I was SENSIBLE and did a thorough warm-up and planned on doing a proper run/walk (2 minutes run/30 seconds walk) to ease my legs back into being used.  What could go wrong, right?

Welcome back, shooting pains into my hip joint.  Welcome back, stiff and sore hip flexors.  Welcome back, discomfort with every stride.  The only positive thing to say is that it was discomfort, not pain, although it certainly flirted with the pain/discomfort threshold.  I got back to the house and did my stretches, which didn't help with the hip pain.  Driving was uncomfortable as was sitting, and I fidgeted through five hours of work meetings because I couldn't find a way to sit that didn't make my hip hurt.  Not happy.  Not happy at all.

My hip flexors are still stiff and sore today and my hip is still twinging sharply if I put sudden weight on it but, glass half-full person that I am, I'm pleased to note that my calves and hamstrings coped well with yesterday's run and no longer feel overly stressed.  I enlisted Bassman's help with my stretching in an attempt to replicate the psoas release that Mr Rocktape Physio did at the VLM Expo.  I'm not sure that we got it exactly right, but there did seem to be a bit more flexibility in my psoas at the end (and, correspondingly, less pain in my hip).  So, that'll definitely be more of that then!

I'm not giving up just yet.  I figure it'll take at least two weeks for my legs to start to cooperate again and, as long as the pain doesn't get any worse, I'll carry on and see what happens.  According to Adam, though, if it does get worse, it will be time to 'PURSUE OTHER OPTIONS.'  Given that he muttered this darkly as I was leaving the therapy room, I didn't ask what he meant by it.

I don't really want to know.