How can I decrease the tension I feel in my outer thighs?

A great way to decrease tension and soreness in the outer thighs is to perform a self-massage technique using a foam roller on your outer thigh muscles.  Similar to massage, foam rolling is useful for locating and relaxing tender spots or "knots" within your muscles that can be overactive, and when irritated, will cause an increase in tension.  Perform the foam roll technique for the outer thigh using the method describe below. Lie on your side supporting yourself with your elbow and forearm.  Place the foam roll under your outer thigh and in front of your hip joint.  Cross your top leg over the leg on the foam roll, so that the bottom of your top foot is touching the floor in front of your body.  Keeping your bottom leg raised off floor, slowly roll from the upper portion of your outer thigh, slightly in front of hip, down to the knee and back up again, searching for tender spots.  Once identified,  apply pressure on the tender spots for at least 30 seconds, or until they relax.  Find 1-3 tender spots and then repeat on the opposite leg.