The Ice Bath

72 days until the marathon....and still healthy...although I have been feeling a bit more "worn" the past week or so. Last night I did seven miles. The half of the run was sort of a dud. I even considered cutting it short. However, I felt better once I got to five miles or so, and picked up the pace quite a bit at the end. That's a good lesson. You can feel terrible two miles into a run but great after five miles. This is a really important point because if you know this it is much easier to push through. However, I think there are days when you should cut a run short--because your body is telling you that you need another recovery day. The trick is deciding when to push through. I'm still working on that.

I did an ice bath this morning. My legs were not necessarily sore, but they felt dead. If you've ever taken an ice bath, you know that they are not pleasant. Although I want to think they are "refreshing," I have to admit that the best part of the ice bath is the part where I get out of the tub and put my clothes on.

Because I am an empiricist at heart (and teach research methodology), I am continually seeking research evidence to support what I do. Unfortunately, the research evidence doesn't whole-heartedly support ice baths. There is no sound evidence that they speed healing, although the anecdotal evidence is overwhelming. Some research suggests that the ice bath has the same effect as taking an anti-flammatory--so why go through the ice bath? Other research says that the ice bath may decrease soreness but really doesn't DO anything in terms of promoting healing. Some people think the ice bath is effective because of the placebo effect. (If you aren't familiar with the placebo effect, google it). Nonetheless, it can't hurt.

Karl (our Mastiff) really enjoys my ice baths. He likes to bob for ice cubes, as a kid would bob for apples on Halloween.