And another one – this one with a swim and massage!
This morning I got up and went to the pool for a nice, easy swim. Of course, once I got in the water and started swimming, I had a hard time taking it too easy, but I didn’t do any speed sets and tried to keep it at a calm(er) pace. I swam 1,500 yards in about a half hour, which isn’t much slower than usual. It felt good. My form did feel a little off, but that’s probably because of tightness in my body. Thankfully, though, from a cardio standpoint it felt good and my breathing was great.
Then, this afternoon I went and had a great massage. My friend Sam recommended this guy to me. Pierre Henry is a competitive runner, who modestly told me about his 2:45 marathon. I’m guessing the actual time was faster. He hasn’t done a marathon in a few years, but races shorter distances and recently took first place in his age group in a local 10K. The massage was SICK! He really dug into me. It was a bit painful a times, but even the pain felt good. I really felt like he was getting into the scar tissue and lactic acid. He started the massage by really digging into me, including with his elbows and knees. I was more than a little surprised at how much “stuff” there was in my muscles for him to get at. He spent the rest of the hour really working me over, including some good stretches. He called it a mix of all styles, and since I don’t get massages very often, I couldn’t really tell. The massage was at his apartment in Spanish Harlem – a really nice, sun-drenched place; the perfect atmosphere. We talked the entire time about running, about living in New York and about family. After the massage, I jumped into his steam shower for a minute, then a quick cold shower. What a nice experience and well worth every penny.
I’m not sure what I’ll do tomorrow. I’m supposed to talk to John in the morning to discuss next week. Maybe I’ll go to the gym and lift, for the first time in a while – do some upper body and core. That would probably feel nice.
Swim – November 9
Distance: 1,500 yards
Time: 30 minutes