Ahhhhhh.  Last night was the first time I've slept all the way through the night in at least a week.  Yay for massage!  Seriously, I didn't spend 3:00 to 6:00 am semi-awake thinking of everything I have to do the next day.  Nope. I simply woke up at 6:00.  YAY for Nicole!  Those of you in the Charlotte area should consider Nicole Foxx for a massage, http://www.nicolefoxx.com/.  Thanks to F for the reference!  Like F,  I had a nearly 2 hour massage for less price than a 1 hour massage at a spa.

She also specializes in athletes, and I learned a bit about why athletes and I would assume, especially runners, should have regular body work.  I do not have all the facts on this one, so I could be off.  But, apparently, our muscles are pulled apart during exercise, and they heal by joining back together.  Occassionally, when the muscles join back togehter, they turn into one big glob which is not good.  Even worse is the IT band problems (aka ITB) runners often have  in which the muscles join together in an overlapping pattern which is very bad.  And verrrrrry painful to fix.  (K, does that ring any bells???)  Nicole suggested icing one's legs down and then rolling one's outer thighs with a rolling pin to help untangle that mess.  Also, when things don't heal properly, there is a lot of scar tissue build up which needs to be worked out through deep tissue massage.  That pretty much explains my right shoulder blade, but from what I don't know.  Aerobics from 15 years ago?  Running really doesn't involve my shoulder if I do it right!

I also engaged in some shopping therapy at Marshalls.  I love that store!!!  I refuse to pay over $25 for any one item of clothing there, and I can actually buy a lot of nice stuff from last year's styles!  :-)  The pathetic thing is that I remember only paying $25 per item of clothing in high school.  And many,  many years later, I'm still sticking to that budget out of necessity and not frugality. 

Off for a nice run in my new New Balance Big Man running shoes.  Yes, I have to wear men's running shoes for my wide duck feet.  And at my weight, I'm right on the border of being considered a Big Runner ("Athena" is the chick's name for it; Clydesdale is the dude's name).  Despite being a bean pole, Dave, at 6'4", is considered a Clydesdale "big" runner.  Unfortunately, I don't have the tall excuse.  I'm just a big fat running chick with wide duck feet.  I'm trying out the New Balance 991 specifically for the "big" runner.  Woohoo!  Of course, now I have to exorcise those thoughts before I exercise, or this run is goin to be a tough one!!!

8:22:53 AM