For the past few weeks, I have been gradually increasing my run mileage.  One of the slight side effects of this, is that I sometimes get aching muscles.  I am not injured in any way; my muscles are just fatigued and a little sore.

One thing that I have found helps to alleviate the aching feeling, is the use of balms that contain camphor and menthol.  My favorite balm to use is Tiger Balm; the ultra strength version in particular.

These balms don’t do anything to impact the underlying cause of aches and pains. Instead they provide a feeling of cooling, then heating, in the area they are applied.  These feelings fool the body into thinking the original issues are being relieved.  The balms are what are called counterirritants.

Even though I know the balms are not impacting the original cause of discomfort, I still like them.  They just feel good and I forget my aching muscles.

Finally, the new regional Ironman 70.3 race has been confirmed.  It is indeed happening in State College and is called Ironman 70.3 Happy Valley.  All my Penn State friends are super excited to do the race… me, not so much.