Races Like a Girl

Two posts in one week! You know what that means — I just hit a big freelance deadline yesterday and I actually have some free time this morning. (And this is how I spend it. How very sad.) I’m going out to have some Thai food this evening to celebrate. Then I’m taking a couple of weeks off…so no crazy deadlines again until early October. Hoozah!

But back to the subject of this post: I read yet another article on the value of ice baths for recovery recently. This one was in the September issue of Running Times.

Since I was using myself as a guinea pig for Clif Shot on my Sunday long run, and I obviously enjoy suffering and discomfort, I decided to go whole hog and try the ice bath too. I wouldn’t call what I did an “ice” bath — there was no ice (gotta save that for the martinis). But I did soak my lower half in the coldest water I could run in the bath for a good 10 minutes. And, wouldn’t you know it, I was not as stiff as I usually am. After a long run, the pain tends to peak about 36 hours later (4AM if I’m lucky). This time around, no 4AM wakeup call. I also didn’t look like a robot going down stairs, which is always a plus.

I’m a convert. I’ll do the cold soak after hard workouts and races. Followed by a warm bath…ahhh….

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