Two weeks ago I had a massage (it's been about a year since I' last had one) hoping that it would relieve what I think is Piriformis Syndrome. It was wonderful. The one-hour massage focused just on my glutes, hamstrings, quads and ITB. For the first time in months, maybe a year, I was pain free when sitting. Sessions with the chiropractor never completely alleviated the pain.

Tonight I went back and had the same massage all over again. Pure heaven--at least after the massage was over. During the massage, I had to breathe deep and clench my teeth a bit as she really dug in and worked the muscles loose. When she worked on the glutes, I could feel muscles release the whole way down to my ankles.

I'm counting down the days (30) until the next massage. Massage will become a regular part of my training plan. Before I started running, I thought of massage as a luxury. Now I see it as a necessity.