So I have had a writer’s block of late and have spent the last week pondering what to blog about next when it suddenly came to me while lying on the massage table. It dawned on me that the process of getting a massage is really quite the awkward practice. When you think about it, you’re lying there half naked, trying to create small talk with some stranger while he/she rubs you up and down with massage oil. It never used to bother me that much, however since coming to Boulder I haven’t yet unearthed that top-notch masseuse that I can discuss the world’s problems with, and therefore the comfort level on a scale of 1-10 (1 being the awkwardness of standing face to face with a stranger in an elevator and 10 being the comfort of knowing someone so well that you can take them home to meet your mum) has consistently scored around a 4.
Over the past 8 weeks I have come across all sorts. There was the heavy breather the other week who periodically inhaled and exhaled so loudly that I thought he was about to digress into some form of meditation. Then there was the lady who applied so much massage oil that my skin felt like a slippery slide and was left shinning for days. And then there was the guy who forgot to turn on the air conditioner (in 30 degree heat) so that by the end I felt like I had been in the sauna for the past hour.
Now I’m one for quite a firm massage. I really like them to get right into the muscles and create a bit of burn. So the other day when I fell asleep during the massage I knew that it probably wasn’t quite firm enough. It was actually one of those embarrassing moments when you half fall asleep, then you feel yourself falling and you jump a little and wake up in a startle. Now that’s all well and good when you’re in your
own bed with no one else around, but on the massage table is a little awkward. So for my next massage I made the point of saying that I’m
all for a bit of pressure in a massage. Now this lady was quite petite, so I thought there was no way she would make me hurt, however by
the end of the rub I was close to tears (not because I’m weak...it actually really hurt!) and had bruises to boot. The only problem being that
this particular massage was a 10min freebie down at the Thursday night weekly stroke and stride (swim/run) race and the real thing would
put me out of pocket for the next month. That’s when I had a light bulb idea and decided to investigate the Boulder School of Massage where
the students give out cheap massages as part of their training. I was a bit sceptical at first to get massaged by someone yet to fully grasp
the anatomy of the human body, however after the first few massages that I have received they appear to be the most eager and
enthusiastic masseurs yet, with conversation topics that actually keep me awake.
So for my massage this week I have booked back in to the “school” and look forward to a nice soothing massage that will get me in top-notch shape for my upcoming races. I will be backing off the training this week before racing in a Continental Cup race in Canada on Sunday
followed by the Alcatraz Triathlon in San Fransisco the next week.
And on Friday night Sam and I went to the Baseball to watch the Colorado Rockies take on the Milwaukee Brewers. It was an awesome atmosphere, with the crowd almost more entertaining than the game!
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