Sunday, July 11, 2010

Time for a cold bath

The long runs are getting longer, which makes sense I suppose. It's the name that gives it away. Today I ran 10 miles with Team in Training. It was a hot day (but thank you cloud cover for saving me a little!) and the run felt really very hard in some places. But its not meant to be easy, otherwise we'd all be doing it.

Training is going well, I never thought I'd be able to run these long distances week after week and every time I surprise myself with what I can do! It's a weekly feeling of accomplishment, and  between you and me it feels pretty awesome.

My hardcore level went up a notch today as I had my first ice bath. I say ice bath but I was too chicken to put any actual ice cubes in. The cold tap was enough for this time. As recommended I filled it up enough to just cover my legs, threw on a hoody,  grabbed a hot drink and jumped in. Well - I didn't jump in, I very slowly got in, made some weird monkey noises and then had a sip of the hot drink. After about 30 seconds it started to feel good as my tired legs were numbed. Not so good when I moved and sloshed the cold water up my back though. 

I made it through about 15 mins of cold therapy and got into a hot shower! I swear my legs have felt better for it today. 

Here is what Runners World has to say about why its a good idea to subject your legs to coldness after a long run:
"Cryotherapy ("cold therapy") constricts blood vessels and decreases metabolic activity, which reduces swelling and tissue breakdown. Once the skin is no longer in contact with the cold source, the underlying tissues warm up, causing a return of faster blood flow, which helps return the byproducts of cellular breakdown to the lymph system for efficient recycling by the body"

Next week I will be running 11.25 miles and will be indulging in another ice bath no doubt. As I push myself into the depths of hardcoreness and dare to throw a few ice cubes in, think of me, be glad you aren't doing the same thing on your Sunday morning and sponsor me! I've raised $1600 so far which is awesome but I need more!! More ice baths, more long runs, more money ... a long run and a cold bath is nothing compared to cancer...


1 comment:

  1. "made some weird monkey noises "...lmao!! good for you. Ice baths suck, but are so good for you and your recovery! x

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