I had a 90-minute massage last night, and I think it helped a lot. There was tremendous tightness in my hips and glutes, as well as my quads and hamstrings. I have been terrible about stretching anything other than calves and hamstrings, so that may explain part of my back trouble. I was concerned about doing my scheduled interval workout this morning, so I decided instead to go out for an easy 8 miles and to postpone my speed session until tomorrow morning. I didn't feel any particular tightness or pain anywhere during the run, and the biggest difference was that my pace was faster than it's been lately, but with a similar effort. Yesterday's pace was unusually slow (7:40 avg) for an easy day. My easy days usually range in the 7:20-7:30 pace. Today's average was 7:09, and that was after a very slow first mile (I was testing things out). For an easy day, that was a good sign. In case my two readers are interested, my massage therapist is Leah Nelson (leahnelsonlmt@gmail.com; 801-906-3222). She's at 133 Kensington in SLC. She just moved here three months ago from NYC, where she had a thriving practice. She has worked with a lot of athletes, and I recommend her highly. Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of my back pain.
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