Excruciatingly good!

Well it was another long run day.....and it was our last 20miler until the marathon!!! Taper time!

We started off at 6am, way later then normal. This was not a good idea. By the time we hit mile 10 we were smokin hot, and not in a good way. At the beginning of the run Megan and I both got side cramps, right away. We tried to figure out why? We thought maybe it had to do with the elevation or something. It was a lot of down hill which killed my right hip, but my knees felt good. We headed up the dreaded mile 14 and I powered up, I was shocked. Our goal for today's run was to run 22 miles, 14 miles at 8min mile pace. I averaged at 8:30min so I think I did it! It was basically a marathon today minus 5miles.

So when I got home I told myself I had to take an ice bath no matter what!
All serious runners know that ice has special properties and is a critical part of one’s recovery regimen (e.g. “Sore muscle? Ice it.”) However, I only recently discovered the magic of an ice bath!

I ran by Staters and picked up three bags of ice, and headed home. When I got home I filled up the tub, then added all the ice. I first stuck my toe in, and was freaking out. Then I just bit the bullet and sat in all the way. AWWWW! Yes it was that bad! I thought I was going to die of hypothermia, I was sure that the water was too cold and I had put too much ice in, but I grabbed my hot tea and started sipping( I read that if you drink some hot tea while you get in, then it won't be so bad). I took my legs out for ten seconds and then put them back in for ten more seconds, I did this for about a minuet and then I just let them stay in. I tried to take my mind off of it by reading, but it was hard. After the first five minuets, my body got used to it and I was chillin, literally. So I did this crazy thing for 20 minutes, and then I got out and took a warm shower. Oh did that feel nice.

I have read so much about these ice baths, and when I was in cross-country in highshool our coach made us dump ice and water in a trash can and stick our legs in. I can't believe I did that all the time, and then forgot about how wonderful it felt afterward.

Saint Andrew’s cross-country coach John O’Connell, a 2:48 masters marathoner, will hit the ice baths before the ibuprofen. "Pain relievers can disguise injury," he warns. "Ice baths treat both injury and soreness."

It's only been a couple of hours since the bath and I am feeling pretty good, I ll check back in tomorrow to see how I really feel....

I think ice baths are the next best thing to a the invention of peanut butter, which I thank Carver for every day!