A massage story

I mentioned that I had scheduled a massage to try to work the kinks out my lower back and hip from overuse due to this crazy marathon schedule. I will say that it was affecting my spirits a bit. I was a little down, no, no, its o.k., now. So I went for my massage on Tuesday after work. I will start by saying that I am not much of a comfort person. I have a deep seeded belief that too much comfort is a bad thing. So, for me to go for something like a massage is a remarkable thing in its own right. I did go, so maybe I am overcoming some of my innate stubbornness, unlikely.

The masseuse was a good and did a top to bottom sports massage. I had a few muscle spasms in the small of my back and buttocks during the massage. I took this as a sign that things were being worked out. Nothing good ever came without a little pain along the way. I think all told the whole thing lasted about 50 minutes. I hear some people, mostly at my office, talking about how awesome a massage is. I suppose it is fine and as long as it is useful for you who am I to argue. I can't see myself as a regular. I was a bit looser after than before and I think within 2 hours my hip and lower back were 50% better than when I went in. That is what I wanted. Yesterday, I think that total was up to 65% and today I would put that at 85%. My hip is still a small bit of trouble; however, it is 10 to 20% of the problem that it was. I will call that a success and I thank the fine woman who helped me out with that. I can see myself doing it again for this type of injury but as I said I am not the type of person who would be doing this on a regular basis.

To minimize the chance of injury going into the home stretch, I have decided to switch to trails. There are some gentle trails close to my home with little challenge in terms of rocks. This will give my hip and lower back a chance to recover more fully before the marathon in Mid-May. I have my 20 mile run this weekend and this will also be done on trails. The time will be slower but I will be recovered for the marathon and that is the point. Start the race healthy and leave it on the course, no regrets no what ifs. I read in one of the runners magazines from one of the top runners, better to be under trained and healthy than over trained and injured. I will keep this in mind over the next month.