I leave for Hawaii in 10 days for a month of winter training before I head to Brazil for my third Fast Triathlon (or Triatlo Rapido as the natives call it). Matt Chrabot and I are finalizing our team and looking to upset the Brazilian team, which has thwarted our valiant attempts for the past two years. But more about that as it gets closer.
Yesterday I went in for my first massage in a while. When I’m not training at my limit it seems silly to pay lots of money for massage therapy, but now I wish I had gotten more massages during my off-season. It’s those times when you aren’t training at your max that you can make the most progress on breaking up your tight muscles and improving flexibility and biomechanics. Plus, after skiing, traveling and trail running for the past few weeks, that massage hurt way more than I thought it would.
While I was laying on the table, I started wondering what exactly makes a good massage therapist. There are a handful I’ve been to that I will recommend to anyone, and will pay a premium for – but everyone of the people on that list has a different style of massage. Today I went to Liam, who works out of Inewmed and a has crazy strong fingers from rock climbing. Jenny in south Seattle has a more classic method, but great intuition and responds well to requests. Then there’s a woman in Kent (way south of Seattle) who does Shiatsu massage with her feet! All three of these people have sent me off in much better shape than I came, and yet – other digging in to the key areas: hips, legs, and back – I can’t single out any specific techniques that set my favorite massage therapists apart from the other 99% that I won’t return to.
So ten more days of standard fare – chores, meetings, season planning, and some training – and then I’m off to O’ahu for blue skies and ocean swimming with Courtenay. I wonder if I’ll miss the indoor pool or the sting of running in 33 and rainy. Just in case, I’d better get off my computer and make the most of this weekend!