Itches

Okay, so the last two days (that's a record, y'all) I have been "running." It is actually more like brisk walking with the occasional sprint. My dear friend, Kaci, at, www.ellyphant.info (sorry, I don't know computer tricks! How do you put an email address hidden in a "here" button??) talked me into running a half marathon with her. DREARY! I don't run. She does!! Help! Why would I agree to it. you ask? Well, I need a good kick in the butt to get moving and lose these 10 lbs nursing school has so graciously given me over the last couple of years. AND, medicine man is a runner, so if I could get to his level, (sometime next year, MAYBE), we could run together. AND, I am getting married in October, and we all know what comes after the wedding...the honeymoon...beaches....bathing suits...skinney girls....scary! So, why not, right? I really want to stick with this and get all the benefits out of it I can. Looser jeans, less love to handle on my hips, and an overall well being that comes from a major accomplishment, like completing a half marathon. So, after I returned home yesterday, I mentioned to medicine man that my legs started to itch towards the end of the "run," and did he know why? He looked at me like I was crazy, just as he always does when I assume I need a doctor's opinion for something trivial, and told me to lotion up..like he has been telling me for 3 years. Well, today it happened again! It's so annoying, because I have to stop and ravage my thighs when I am trying to be a fabulous running person. I came home and decided to look up my itches and see if I am the only one out there that needs some lotion only when they run. Turns out, I am not crazy...just extremely sedentary. I think I prefer crazy...read this:
"It usually occurs during exercise performed after a long period of inactivity. The itching is not on the skin, it’s inside the actual limbs. There are millions of tiny capillaries and arteries inside our muscles which expand rapidly due to the demand for more blood that is brought on by exercise. When fit, these capillaries remain open allowing maximum blood passage, but when unfit and inactive they tend to collapse, allowing only minimal blood passage (which is sufficient for a sedentary person however). The rapid expansion of these vessels causes adjacent nerves to send impulses back to the brain which are interpreted as an itch. That’s why after a few sessions the sensation tends to go away. Just another indication of increasing fitness levels."
HOW'S THAT FOR MOTIVATION? I HAVE TO RUN PAST THE ITCH TO PROVE THAT I AM NOT INACTIVE!!!
Wish me luck..I'm gonna need it! Thanks for reading my loong post!


“Life’s battles don't always go to the strongest or fastest man,
But sooner or later the man who wins is the fellow who thinks he can.” Unknown

"Do a little more each day than you think you possibly can."
-Lowell Thomas

"The will to win is worthless, without the will to prepare." This one is great! Don't know who said it..other than me just now!

One more...
"If you run 100 miles a week, you can eat anything you want -- Why? Because
(a) you'll burn all the calories you consume,
(b) you deserve it, and
(c) you'll be injured soon and back on a restricted diet anyway."
--Don Kardong

Have a great Tuesday!