With the London Marathon on the horizon and plenty of half marathons taking place across London in the coming months – if you’re training for one of these sporting events, a thought that is sure to have crossed your mind is ‘How do I improve my running speed?‘
Whether you’re a novice runner or compete regularly in running events – let’s face it – you’ll always be looking to shave seconds (or even minutes!) off your mile time and in this post we’ll reveal how you can achieve this!
The secret to making you run faster is to build regular Deep Tissue or Sports massage treatments into your training regime.
By establishing a programme of regular massage treatments with a fully qualified and professional therapist you will become aware of particular muscles that you are over exerting whilst training. Through tailored massage treatments that help your muscles rest and recover, coupled with expert aftercare advice, you’ll be able to correct any overexertion so that you can train harder, build up your stamina and watch your race time drop!
Does a Deep Tissue or Sports Massage hurt?
If you’ve not had a Deep Tissue or Sports massage before you need to be aware that due to the firm pressure used you will feel some discomfort during your treatment. However, if you are too uncomfortable and find the pain to be unbearable then you should ask your therapist to reduce the pressure.
Kate Carter at The Guardian reviewed our Deep Tissue massage and gives her account of her treatment:
Having left it too late to get an appointment at my local place, I decided to try Urban Massage… I’m pretty sure my masseur got rid of a knot in my shoulders that’s been there since about 2008 (I sort of miss it), and definitely helped get my legs ready for marathon running. Of course, it’s supremely painful – if it isn’t, surely it’s not doing much?
Kate Carter, The running blog on The Guardian
Other benefits of building massage into your running regime:
- Having massages in the lead up to race day helps to mentally prepare you for what your body is going to endure.
- Reduces the chance of getting a running injury.
- Improves the capacity of red blood cells to carry oxygen around your body.
- Can lower blood pressure by dilating blood vessels.
If you’re looking to have a massage before the London Marathon we recommend booking it for at least two days before the race – any closer and you’ll potentially jeopardise your performance as the treatment leaves your muscles aching and sore. This massage shouldn’t be too heavy and will just work to flush the chemicals away from your legs. If you let your Urban Massage therapist now you are running in the marathon, they’ll be able to adapt your treatment accordingly.
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Who are we? We’re Urban Massage – on a mission to make wellness rituals convenient and accessible without compromising on quality. So, from just £49 an hour, you can enjoy a range of massages from an expert therapist at a time to suit you. Download the app or go to urbanmassage.com to book 60 minutes of restorative me time.