Thursday, July 7, 2011

Sorta Race Report: Two Hour Massage

Before Race:

I ate a Trio bar and spilled crumbs all over myself.  Finished my coffee and used the bathroom.  I drove to the office early and then sat around waiting looking at FaceBook on my phone.

Warm-up:
I filled out a bunch of paperwork, signed away my life and tried to describe what hurt and why.  Took a potty break.  I listened to the pre-massage directions and chatted a bit about what I hoped from the session before getting into my race outfit.  I kind of wished for the protective modesty of spandex.

Massage:
It hurt, a lot, I don't mean a little, I mean a lot.  Grande pain!  Venti pain!  I think I go to Starbucks too much.  Most of the pain was in my calves and right above my knee.  He wasn't mean, I just have some really sore muscles and am kind of a wuss when it comes to massage.

The good news is that my joints and ligaments seem great, not swelling or major imbalances, just a need for recovery, more stretching and to be worked on once in a while. 

One of the things that I really had to work on was relaxing.  I tend to tense up really had to focus on breathing through the discomfort (a politer word for muchos pain).  It took a lot of focus but I found that I could relax certain areas of my body and think that will come in handy in life.

Post Massage:
We talked a bit about vitamins, stretching, and some different ways to run and then I paid and left.  I drank a ton of water and took a light 50 minute run that evening.  I feel sore but great.

Take away:
Glad I finally got over my cheapness and fear and had the work done.  It really was what I needed at this point in my training for Vineman.  I feel more confident about how my body is reacting to training and much more confident about my knee. 

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