Working Massage Into Marathon Training

If you follow me on Facebook, you may know I made it into the 2014 Marine Corps Marathon. 

If you've ever run a marathon, then you probably know that I am experiencing a bit of panic now trying to plan for training. Twenty-six point two miles is a lot of miles. A lot. *sigh*

So, I'm doing a lot of research to determine how best to avoid breaking down mid-marathon into delirium and begging random strangers for a piggy back ride to the finish.

At the top of my research pile is the impact of massage on runners. I could quote all of the medical mumbo jumbo, but I won't. It's boring, trust me. But the bottom line is, massage is good. Wait. Let me rephrase, GOOD massage is good. A bad massage can leave you injured. Believe me, it's happened. I once paid $90 for someone to decide partway through my Swedish massage that what I really needed was a deep tissue massage. I was not physically or emotionally prepared for a deep tissue massage. It took me two months to recover from that deep tissue massage. 

I have since found a phenomenal massage therapist that has a strong understanding of physiology and what my body needs to recover efficiently from my training. It's almost magical how she can find areas of stress and injuries that I've neglected to even tell her about. (I think maybe she's part witch - but the good kind of witch, like Hermione). 

For real, no one looks like that when they're getting massaged. But that's absolutely the way I feel like I look when I'm getting massaged.

So, I don't really have my mileage plan set up yet, but I do know that I will be working massage into my plan at least monthly over the next 7 months. Likely, I will increase that closer to marathon time. Luckily, my spa offers a wonderful club plan to help me afford frequent massage. 

Whether you're a regular runner or not, I encourage you to invest in regular massage. You will be happier and healthier for it.

Now, can I get a ooh-rah! (That's a marine thing, right?)