Goodbye, Swiss Avenue. I won't see you again this season and please know that I won't miss you. Today was my last long run before NY. 23 miles. 23 miles is a long, long way. I was really nervous last night. I don't care how long you've been running --- 23 miles is not afraid to kick your butt.
You would think that you would feel invincible after conquering 23 miles. Instead, I cringed as I faced another fear --- my first ice bath. I've heard all the claims about how an ice bath speeds recovery, but those 15 minutes in freezing water seemed almost as daunting as the 4+ hours I had spent running this morning.
There's a specific way to take an ice bath. Put warm layers on top, grab a Starbucks and sit in the tub while you fill it up to your hips with ice cold water. Then, take a deep breath and dump in ice bag #1. Reassure your dog that despite your whimpers, you are not dying. About 5 minutes later, dump in ice bag #2. Sit in the tub for a total of about 15 minutes.
How was it? About as bad as it sounds, but it really did help. Afterwards, I took Parker to the dog park, showered, put on my compression socks and took a ridiculous nap. Not bad for a list of Saturday accomplishments.
Wow. Compression socks and ice baths?
ReplyDeleteI thought I had more to say, but just, wow.