My Hips Are Killing Me

Since I got this FitBit to encourage me to walk more I certainly have added a lot more steps to each day.  My goal has been to do 10,000 steps a day and I am happy to report I made 70,000 steps in my first week.  It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.  Walking is time consuming.  Some nights I was walking around and around the dining room table late into the night checking my phone app to see the steps added up.

I tried to cut down on the amount of time the walking took by adding some running to my day. I am not a runner so when I say adding some running I was doing things like running home while out with Shay Shay from three of four houses away.  I am feeling all this walking with a splash of running in my hips.   Previous to this exercise spurt I have been having trouble with my left arch so you would rarely see me anything but the most unattractive supportive shoes.  Even with the best available footwear something is not right because my hips are killing me.

Now one would think that these same hips that have carried this body with more than a hundred and ten pounds on it for years without pain could take a little extra walking.  I certainly must be doing something wrong.

I thought that maybe if I got all my steps in early in the day I might avoid night time hip pain so Russ and I took Shay Shay out to the Eno River Park to hike this morning.  I got 9500 steps out on the trail with a little help being pulled along by our sweet dog who was in heaven.  The early theory was proven wrong.  My hips are still killing me.

I’ve tried stretching — crossing one knee over the other and pushing it away from me — A little relief, not much.  A long hot shower, a little more relief, not enough.  Two Aleve – not good enough yet.

Well, I know that eventually my body will adjust, but I’m tired of hurting.  I did lose two pounds this week, but that seemed small based on my eating and exercise.  At least if I’m going to hurt this much I should lose a little faster.  I’m not throwing in the towel yet, but any tips for hip stretches are welcome.