abs of steel...legs of rebar?

Katie Cully at Performance Wellness rocks! She's an amazing massage therapist. She's this tiny powerhouse capable of digging into the toughest of knots and working on them until they give way. She plays great music. She's funny. And she always has some creative way of describing whatever is going on with my muscles. Last time my hips were "locked up tighter than a convent on Valentine's Day" (seriously?!) and this time my hamstrings felt "like rebar". At first you might think, "Cool, they are really strong." But the reality is that rebar has ridges...and I think her description means that my muscles feel like they have ridges. Which is not really what we're going for folks! And it makes for a pretty painful (good pain!) massage...and usually some new bruises after the massage. Today she discovered that if she warms my legs up before and then uses some menthol smelling stuff on them that they are a little more pliable. And she suggested that in addition to rolling right after exercise that I then come home, take a hot bath or warm up the muscles again with a heating pad, and then roll again. Yeah! Erin teased me a while ago about becoming a professional roller because I was doing it so much...I'm back at it. Now all they need to do is add this and pike sit-ups into the Ironman in CDA and I might really gain some ground!
The day started off with our "abs of steel" workout with Chrissie...LOTS of ab work today which was good. Then, because we're on Spring Break, I got to go grab breakfast with some T3 folks. Yeah! I've been looking forward to it for so long...simple pleasures - breakfast with friends.
After my massage I took myself back to school. I've been working on the same transcript project for three days now and I finally stopped to see how many I was needing to produce. Over 400. No wonder it was taking me so long to update GPAs, print them, stuff and seal them, and postmark them. I'm tired of the project so I told myself that today was it. And it was. But it meant I was at school until 7:00 p.m. Yes, I'm crazy when I get determined to finish something. Good thing I'd already decided to give myself a 24-hour hiatus from working out which meant that I wouldn't be going to track practice. So I ducked my head and just worked on through 5:00 p.m. and then 6:15 p.m. (my curfew for myself!) and finally at 7:00 p.m. I gave in. I packed up what I could take home with me and decided to finish at home. I was tired of being in my office - it just doesn't feel like home no matter how comfy I make it. And I knew I needed dinner! Quick run by Costco and then home again, home again...to the smell of BBQ chicken in the slow cooker!!! I had totally forgotten. YUM! Seriously good stuff. Thanks, Jess, for the cookbook and the recipe tip. A little frozen yogurt with berries for dessert (I decided I deserved a treat for working late over Spring Break?! I know, I know...). And hopefully to bed soon...because I missed my nap today. But I don't have an early morning workout tomorrow so I'll take that extra hour of sleep and apply it to my nap quota for today!
(Note: I know this is weird but taking time off from our training has been tough...not only because it's sometimes difficult to take a day off and still fit in your hours but mostly because it's so much fun that I hate to not be at practice. But I knew that my legs would thank me for letting them reap the benefits of the massage if I let them be loose for a little while.)