IT Band

One of the most dreaded phrases a female athlete can hear. "It sounds like you have an IT band problem."

My chiropractor told me that last week, and he began treating it this week. I was in so much pain I was sweating through my clothes! SHEESH! And if I had been on it, I could have taken a picture to show you the bruises! It looked like I had fallen down a flight of concrete stairs! When he was finished, my leg was hot to the touch! PAIN! And all he did was rub the IT band! This is what I get for not stretching in my 20's!

By the way, the IT band is a band of tissue that runs along the outside of your thigh from your hip to your knee. When it's tight, it can cause all kinds of pain in your knee and hip and quads. The best remedy is stretching and loosening. I highly recommend stretching after every workout, even if you're 20 and think you're invincible. This is the same body you will have when you're 60, so take care of it now or pay the consequences later.

So I took a few days off...

And WOW did it affect my mood! I have been one Grumpy Gus lately! I didn't realize how much just doing 30 minutes of exercise really affects my moods! I got back on my bike trainer today and did about 30 minutes of REALLY easy spinning. It was so easy that I was able to read a book while working out. When I got off the bike I was already feeling better, so I decided to break in my new running shoes and walk the dog. I walked for about .1 miles and decided, no, I'd rather jog. And jog I did. When I got home, my mood was 20x better than it was when I got up this morning!

Sooooo...what if the second meaning of life is learning to take care of your body (after the number 1 meaning, which would be to know God and enjoy Him forever)? =o)