Thursday, May 4, 2017

Sports Massage Chatter




Although the alarm still went off at 5.30 am today, we did not rush around checking swim bags to see if everything that should be in was in there, neither did Steve start to get our bikes ready for a training ride. Sadly no, to both of those options. Instead we started checking paperwork and making sure that the last job we have to finish before we throw our stuff in our van and head for France, was all ready to finalise. There is still too much to do and just these last two days to get it done in. So after a morning cuppa we got on with sorting things out from the total mess that Steve had in his bag, into something presentable enough to hand over to the shipping company. We finished the big sort out by just after 7.30am and Steve left for work, reminding me that I had an appointment with our sports massage therapist at 9am.
 
 I buzzed about like a honeybee on drugs and was sweet smelling and reasonably tidy when I arrived outside Vicky Vickery’s home salon and 8.50am. Of course it is not easy for the poor girl; for a start I am not twenty one any more and as she has been trying to put my decrepit old body to rights, I am still training as much as I sensibly can, whilst not pushing her work back a couple of visits at a time.


Chattering to her take the mind of the discomfort as she attempted to un-tighten all the muscles that are so regularly put to use. Today involved a complete ironing out of my entire lower body and legs. She knows that although I was a late starter, as far as triathlon was concerned, that as a child and teenager I was a dancer and that is the base of my muscle strength. Then, even though it seems as though I had a thirty year lay off from dancing classes; that is not a full truth. During my first marriage, after producing my lovely daughter, school runs etc. etc. I still walked briskly and reasonable distances, I taught my daughter and her two cousins to swim in weekly trips to the pool and went horse riding. So it is not really that surprising that if you add a number of year’s of a regular weekly evening of folk dancing; that I could take up a new sport at fifty as I did. 


Putting aside the pain of a sports massage, I have to say that I always enjoy talking with Vicky, since she and I do share a number of interests apart from sport; namely books, movies, TV, theatre, and Vicky like me is open to new ideas. This morning we were talking about which ballet or opera’s would a suitable starting point for somebody who has wide like and dislikes in the world of the theatre and fancies trying something a little more serious.


 My own view is that on the ballet front is ‘ The Nutcracker Suite’ is a ideal first stop on the journey because the story is easy to follow and has such variety with all the dances of the last part of the ballet, not to mention colour and beauty, or Romeo and Juliet where everybody is familiar with the tragic tale that is just a sad beautifully danced. Opera wise, the number one first opera HAS to be Carmen surely, I know that is what Steve would say for sure. Or as a lighter start G & S’s Mikado colourful funny and delightful music.


Vicky told me today that she has started running again with a friend and don’t blame me for that. You may be better blaming Steve of any of the other triathletes she pummels regularly and she is far from new to all sorts of sport but just a few years out of serious practice. She is a very focused young woman and as sharp as a tack.  



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