Urban Massage Review

I was lucky enough to receive free entry into the North London Half Marathon via Urban Massage who were one of the races sponsors. You can read how I got on here: (spoiler - I had a great run and recorded my second fastest time).

As if a free race entry wasn't enough I was also lucky enough to receive a free massage! It was like my Christmas and Birthday coming at once! 

So in case you didn't know know Urban Massage are a massage provider with a difference, not only do they offer a wide range of massages and treatments they send a therapist straight to your home or workplace. With their extensive range of over 300 therapists they also pride themselves on being able to provide you with a massage appointment within a few hours offering a high standard of flexibility and convenience to customers. 

You can also choose your own therapist allowing you to pick someone with the right experience and expertise so you can tailor your treatment to meet your requirements.

So how was my massage? 

I naturally opted for a sports massage (although Urban Massage do provide the usual array of massages from thai massage, deep tissue and reflexology) which I booked in for an evening after work. 

Pre massage I went through the usual anxiety you get when you invite a stranger into your home, after a frantic 15 minutes cleaning the flat I was sat ready and waiting for my therapist. 

Soon enough Andreas turned up for our appointment, after a quick chat I was pleased to hear he had experience in endurance training and had completed several marathons in the past and was now focusing on long distance cycling. 

Before I knew it a full size massage bed had been erected in the flat and Andreas had unpacked a range of fresh towels from his holdall in a sight similar to a scene from Mary Poppins. 

What followed was a generous hour of an incredibly beneficial sports massage that really soothed my muscles after the ravages of several weeks of marathon training.

I found Andreas to be very knowledgeable not only on his understanding of muscles but also on common running injuries and ailments as well knowing about general fitness and running issues. 

I was also happy with Andreas's assessment that other than a bit of tightness in my hip flexors my legs were in good condition. 

The session was finished off with Andreas demonstrating a stretch I could use to help elevate my hip flexor tightness and some general advice on how I could maximise my running conditioning through stretching. 

As we chatted the towels were rolled up, Andreas packed his bag and before I knew it the bed was folded up and put away and my flat was returned to being a normal flat as opposed to a massage treatment room. 

Now here is the best part, you know after a massage when you feel all relaxed and chilled out? The last thing you want to do is to get on a busy train home right? Well all I had to do was grab a protein shake from the kitchen and sit down on the sofa with my feet up ready to enjoy the rest of my evening. Perfect! 

I would recommend considering Urban Massage for any massage you were thinking of booking as the convenience their service provides is a great benefit.

Thank you to Urban Massage for providing me with a free massage in return for a review. Although this massage was received free of charge all opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. 

Glad to be out running

After 10 days without running I got back out running today.

Not quite headline grabbing news and ten days is hardly an age but for me it has felt like weeks of not months.

After the Hackney Half Marathon I knew I needed some rest and recovery time for my calves as I have had problems with them all year and they were just so tight and painful.

So I took a week off running, applied ice at least once a day and after a few days started some gentle rolling. 

Then on Monday after I had already given my calves a week to rest I had a sports massage which was great for loosening up not only my calves but my hamstrings as well.

Then today I headed out on a lovely warm sunny afternoon for a gentle 30 minute run, no time, no pace and no real set route. And it was glorious! It was great to run after a long lay off, great not to have pain in my calves and great to just get out and run without worrying about training for an up coming race.

I will now go for a longer run at the weekend and fingers crossed I hope I will be back to full running fitness!

My weekly training update

This time last week I had just completed the Hackney Half Marathon and after some rest and recovery and some post race eating it was time to look forward with my training plans. 

Rather than looking ahead to my next event this time my focus has been on rest and recovery. 

Since the start of the year I have struggled with my calves, tightness and pain often when walking and especially when running. My calves have always been my week spot ever since I started running many years ago. A few years back I went for a sports massage as part of treatment for what I thought was shin splints only to be advised that my problems were more likely to be a result of compartment syndrome in my calf muscles. After some treatment and rest I was back up and running but I have always paid close attention to any discomfort in my calves and given them special attention in terms of extra strectching and foam rolling. 

But now the problem has returned and I know I will need a period of rest before I am ready to resume with my running. 

So this week instead of enjoying the light and warm spring evenings out running I have instead been indoors on the sofa looking a bit like this:

I have a sports massage booked for tomorrow so I know that will help and I will see what I am advised in terms of when I should get back to running. 

Away from training the other notable news from me is that I have now set up a Facebook page for my blog, if you would like to follow me on Facebook here's a link to my page, thanks! 

Nutrition wise I have been more relaxed in my diet and have enjoyed a few homemade pizzas this week. Comprising of a whole grain wrap as a base, whatever veggies and bits in the fridge I have for toppings topped off with cheese they are a really tasty snack and a slightly healthier option to a takeaway or frozen pizza. 

I am also in the midst of a food addiction at the moment, it's not the unhealthiest of food addictions so I have not fought to curb my addiction. It is however starting to dominate my fridge: 

My addiction is yogurt! I just can't stop eating it! Whether it's a few spoonfuls as a snack, as part of a smoothie or with yogurt I am loving it! Especially Yeo Valley Vanilla and Blueberry flavours and Icelandic Skyr yogurt not only because it reminds me of my recent trip to Iceland but because it's so high in protein and so low in fat! I would definitely recommend trying it out! 

Thanks for reading and I hope everyone is out enjoying the early summer sunshine. 

Tunbridge Half Marathon 2015

My first run of 2015 The Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon was taking on a grueling and hilly 13 miles amongst the scenic villages in and around Tunbridge Wells.

The race was the scene of my triumphant PB run last year but this year I knew such a performance would not be on the cards. 

The early part of 2015 has seen me move into a new flat and take on a new job which all in all has disrupted my training somewhat. Added to this my troublesome calves which have been playing up since Christmas.

The race was always going to be a struggle and just about getting round rather than aiming for a certain time, but in the days leading up to the run I was doubtful of running at all. Being busy with the flat move logistics had meant having to squeeze in runs to my schedule where possible and with time being constrained I was in the bad of not warming up or cooling down properly leading to my calves getting worse. 

On the Friday before the run I was so concerned at not being able to run the race on the Sunday I started making inquiries with local sports massage establishments to see what they could offer at short notice. I managed to squeeze in an early morning appointment at a local physiotherapist where I received a gentle sports massage to try and ease the tightness but without causing too much damage to prevent me from running the next day. 

Come the day of the race I just about felt well enough to run but didn't feel particularly fighting fit to take on 13 miles. 

I was running with my main running buddy my brother in law Tom who was raring to go for this years race after having to sit out last years event through injury, as this is his local event he was more keen to run and do well. 

We headed off at a gentle pace meandering our way through the other runners. It was nice to enjoy a bit of a company and a bit of a chat. Around a mile and a half a bottle neck of runners going into a tight corner meant that we got split up, it was also a slight downhill bend which Tom decided to take full advantage of and put his foot down and accelerated away. Not being in the greatest shape I knew I couldn't speed up to catch him so I watched him run around 50m in front of me, however every time I looked up he had sprinted further into the distance.

After 3 or 4 miles my calves felt better and I felt like the race had started so I started to concentrate on my strategy. 

I was conscious of not pushing to hard and making sure I just finished in one piece and I was of course spurred on by trying to catch Tom up.

This year I found the hills much harder than last year but the genius of the race organisers of positioning bands and musical entertainment at the summits of hills was incredibly motivating. 

As I moved into the second half of the course my thoughts turned to trying to catch my running partner Tom up, I wondered where he was on the course and how far ahead he was. I was chugging along with the aim of finishing in around 1.50 which I knew Tom was more than capable of matching and probably even going a bit quicker. 

As the miles past I expected to see him and overtake him but with every mile that I didn't pass him I was more concerned firstly that he was going to beat me by a sizable time and secondly concern that he might have pushed to hard and dropped it.

As the race entered the final stages with still no sign of Tom I had feelings of both feeling pleased that Tom looked on for a great finishing time matched with the anguish of fearing he had pulled out. As my own chances of a good time faded the thought of knowing Tom was achieving a good time kept me motivated and I hoped I wouldn't see him again until the finish.

When I got to the ten mile mark I found it tough as usually I would summon up what energy I had left and push for the finish line but not on this occasion. This time I went to look to see what I had left in the tank and the answer was 'very little!'.

I still didn't see Tom in the final miles and felt excited to find out how well he had done but was still concerned he might have pulled out.

After I staggered across the finish line feeling as bad as I probably have after any race I worked my way through the finishers area where I spotted a disorientated but jubilant looking Tom who had finished a few minutes before me and smashed his PB to run a blinding 1.48! 

I was kind of disappointed with my own time of 1.51 but at the same time I knew I couldn't have worked any harder during the race I just simply wasn't fit enough on this occasion. 

I couldn't be too downhearted as the memories of my own triumphant PB in the race last year came flooding back. 

It was great to revel in the enjoyment of someone elses achievements and a pleasant afternoon was spent recovering, refueling and suggesting how much faster than our PBs either of us could go. I suspect these predictions became more fanciful and less realistic as the beers flowed! A cracking Sunday lunch at the Duke of York pub was heartily enjoyed to wrap up a great race weekend.