No Pain No Gain!

Swimming to a bronze medal in the Sprint event at Worlds in Lake Michigan, Chicago 2015

Two days before competing in the Standard distance. 

It was time for the pressing and ironing this morning and I’m not talking about shirts and trousers. No, this time it was the seating area that needed attending to. No, no, no, not the chairs around the dining table or the Eezy-boyz that Steve and I slob out in at the end of the day to catch up on the world and its wickedness. No, we are talking here about me going for treatment to a sports massage therapist who has taken on the task of massaging my legs out of the very tight mode they seems to have adopted of late. It was my second visit to Vicky Vickery in Arundel who is working hard on my Hamstrings and my Gluteus Maximus and Medius and even the darling little Gluteus Minimus, all of which seem to have turned to stone or a least have got very, very tight. For the less sporting folk who may read this; we are talking about the backs of my thighs and my butt muscles.

 

Start of the bike section on my way to gold medal in Worlds in Edmonton Canada 2014 

Vicky, is a lovely young woman looks belie her strength and knowledge. She has a fairly widespread sporting background herself and maybe that is how she found herself in this occupation and today making my eyes water a little as she kneaded away at my Gluteal muscles like a master baker with a very stiff bread dough (I hope my bum muscles are not all that Maximal but its hard for me to see since they are behind me). I wish I could say the treatment was a pleasure but as most sports people know, having tight muscles relaxed and softened cannot be described as pleasure. The pleasure comes by having the pain that you came in complaining about melted skilfully away by a therapist with strong hands, arms, shoulders and back.

 

Second lap in Edmonton cold and wet as England

 

My husband took my to see Vicky because my problem was getting worse rather that better to the point quite unusually that I am losing sleep because being horizontal it the thing that is causing the most pain, I can ride my bike without too much trouble and I can run with no more discomfort other than a slight reminder of the rigid region of my ancient anatomy. When the treatment was over, she left me to have a bit of a stretch and get dressed and said she would bring me a glass of water before I left. It made me smile that she gently tapped the door and asked if I was decent before coming back in which, come on now, it is funny, since I don’t really have many secrets any more from this young woman.
 

National Sprint Championships at Eton Dorney Lake first time their was a woman 75-79 winner 

As an incurable ambassador for my sport I did spend some of my time trying to get her to come to our club swim session since because so many of her clients are involved in triathlon she is quietly gaining an interest, and swimming would be her least worked on of the three disciplines involved.

 

A training run in the Vineyards of Burgundy, France on a work trip. 

Massage is something that has to be faced now and again if not as a regular part of a sporting life. The body needs attention just the same as your bike needs servicing.