I realised I had kicked a rock. With my own foot. As in, I had managed to do something slightly athletic without tripping and falling on my face. Kicking rocks was a very dangerous athletic activity, since it was so easy to misread the position of the rock and allow it to roll beneath your shoe instead of launching from the toe of your shoe—therefore throwing off your momentum and sending you falling backwards. That had been my previous experience with all rock-kicking attempts.
