Ice, ice baby

I guess I should start off by saying that in almost 4 years of TnT, I had NEVER done an ice bath after a run. Why would any sane person do that, you ask? The theory is that ice baths help flush things out of your system, thereby making you less sore the next day, particularly after a double-mileage (10+ miles) run. I have teammates that swear by this and tell me they are never sore because of it; I always pshawed them and said, "No thank you."

Well in a year of firsts (first marathon, first winter season), I figured I'd at least try it once just to say I did it. Yeah. We'll get back to this in a second, after I recap the run...

The run itself was at Sawyer Camp, and we were on tap for 12 miles. Having run one extra mile two weeks before (i.e. our 10 mile run was actually an 11.03 mile run ;)), I figured this wouldn't feel like such a jump, so I wasn't too worried about it. Besides, it was at one of my most favorite trails!

A group of us met at Pruneyard for a carpool, with the very kind Margot offering to drive. Up we went to the Peninsula, happily chatting away, when we saw something that instilled fear in all of us: fog. Lots of it. Perhaps this wasn't going to be such a run of the mill run after all, hmm...

But not to worry, by the time we got there, it was clear that the trail itself was fog-free (though it was a nice effect to see the fog hovering over Crystal Springs), and, despite the chill in the air (and I do mean CHILL), we managed to suck it up and finally start the run.

All in all, I had an great run. I got to run with some awesome runners (shout out to Janine, Toni, and Andria), who kept the conversations lively and entertaining (snot rockets notwithstanding--ewww, ladies). I did have some issues with my bruised foot--towards the end, especially, I was thisclose to limping--but I made it! Which brings me back to the ice bath...



Ok, I admit: it wasn't AS BAD as I thought it would be. But it was still pretty bad, yo. Especially when I finally submerged my legs into the icy water (in the pic above, you can see I'm still hovering above the water, trying to psych myself up for the eventual torture). I did follow numerous pieces of advice that helped: have a space heater going, bundle up in a sweatshirt, have a timer running, get in the cold water first, then pour the ice in... They all helped, but people, there is NOTHING that can change the fact that you're getting into water with LOTS OF ICE.

That said, I'll probably give this one more chance after the 14-miler. I'm still a bit sore in my joints, but I suppose considering the mileage I ran, I could be way more sore. So I guess that means it worked?

Brrr.