This is the view from the recovery side of the finish line, near the massage tent. By the time I decided to go with my son, the runner, the hotels and motels were full. Massage therapists are provided with lodging, so I signed on the dotted line, packed my massage table into my cherry red Beetle and drove my son to DECC. I waited in the car while he ran in to pick up his registration packet containing the precious "chip" he would wear on his shoe. This chip would verify his registration as a legitimate participant vs an illegal "bandit" running for free. Bandits are banned from future participation in marathons if caught, a thought which makes serious runners blood run cold: a fate worse than injuries, which ultimately heal. The chip also registers a runner's official time which determines qualification to run special events such as the Boston Marathon. My son has been attempting to qualify for Boston since his first event, 4 marathons ago. It was his first time at Grandma's and the first time running in cold, rainy weather. I follow his progress from the massage tent via text updates. And during my occasional breaks from the half marathon participants and the elite full runners, I made my way to my side on the finish line hoping to see his face as he crossed. I caught up with him eventually waiting outside our tent in the massage tent. He was glowing with satisfaction, wrapped in his foil, and shivering. He was so happy he didn't realize he had mild symptoms of hypothermia. The purposes of the post race massage are to determine the runner's condition, to send them to the medical tent when necessary, to get them grounded and coherent, and encourage them to eat something. It is a mistake to perform deep tissue, rehabilitative work on a body that has been pushed to it's limit and held there for anywhere between 2 and 6 hours. I have found PNF stretching techniques to be the most effective method for accelerating recovery. And while many of the other therapists in the tent exclusively utilize western methods massage, the difference between the approaches was quite dramatic. I could feel the trauma, lactic acid and excess tension melt away for the deepest tissues as I worked through the sequence for draining the legs, lengthening hamstrings and illiotibial band, releasing hip flexors and loosening muscles of the feet. One of the last runners I worked on commented that out of eleven years of marathons she had never experienced any bodywork that was more effective than our 20 minute session. Given the weather conditions, could not lay down outside and stretch after crossing the finish line. It was next to impossible to drain the lactic acid in your legs until you got to a table in the warm cozy massage tent. And I noticed that many runners came in and flopped belly down draining the lower leg to the upper leg instead for positioning themselves supine to drain the whole leg at once. As there was a maximum of 20 minutes to work on any one runner the sequence of the session became more important to recovery. All things considered, it was a wonderful afternoon, chatting with awesome, devoted participants, who were passionate about their training and devoted to the sport. When we closed down the massage tent at 2 pm, I was more than ready to head over to the beer and band area to sit down with my son. He gave me a mile by mile analysis of his race, and the excitement in his voice matched the glorious smile on his face. As we drove by beautiful Lake Superior on our way home, we were already planning for next year and hoping for kinder weather.
