Post Race Recovery: My First Ice Bath

I’ve read many articles, blogs and heard many people say they’ve done the whole ice bath thing. I hate being cold so I’ve always been afraid to try it out. But now that I’m becoming a “seasoned” runner, I figured I’d give it a whirl. I’ve heard how much it helps. My sister said she heard on the radio that Usher does it, therefore it must work! Ice baths help to reduce the inflammation in the muscles. I also took Advil this morning when an ice bath wasn’t available. It took the bite off the soreness at work. It’s daunting but I definitely suggest it… read on.

I prepped the tub with cold water, while Ryan boiled water and made me a cup of green tea with honey. My friend Kate told me to wear a sweatshirt, which helped a lot. As the water got high enough to sink it, I took my first painful step into the cold water. Once I was settled in the tub, Ryan poured in the bag of ice. The first minute was the most painful and hardest. But just like a race, it’s a mental game. Once the first 90 seconds were over, my body was numb and it was tolerable. I had Ryan play some music I could sing to so I didn’t have to think about how cold it was. So I rocked out to some Glee and Ke$ha.

 

I’ve been stretching and foam rolling as much as I can. Yesterday I was off and was able to walk around in the city (got my medal engraved for free at Niketown) but today was really hard to go to work and sit at a desk. Luckily I had to do a lot of printing, so I was able to get up often. I also made sure to go to the gym during lunch. I brought my spin shoes and got on a spin bike in the cardio room for about 15 minutes. I spun out with very little resistance and just read some magazines. I then foam rolled and stretched my hips before headed back to work. I bumped into my trainer Earl and he gave me a high five and  hug. It felt good that he was also so proud of my performance. I’m usually sore for 36-48 hours after a half marathon so I’m thinking by the end of the week I’ll be good to go. Friday I will be getting a massage and can’t wait! I’m hoping this weekend I can get in an easy, light and short recovery run.

 

My friend Meesh is training for an Ironman and also will be going to school for PT starting this summer. We played hockey together in college and is an amazing athlete. She’s been a great support system, always lending tips and encouragement. Check out her blog too. She sent me a great post from a running/triathlon coach from her team. Check it out: http://coachjorgem.blogspot.com/ I think this is a pretty good recovery plan and plan to follow it.

 

*What are some of your post recovery tips, tricks? How do you deal with coming down from a race “high”?*

 

Tonight Ryan made stir-fry for dinner, his specialty. This was a perfect post-marathon recovery meal: rice (carbs), veggies (nutrients) and shrimp (for some protein and omegas).

 

Next Race: VT City Marathon Relay with Meg on May 29th (each doing a half marathon portion) – looking forward to running in my college town

 

Song of the Post: "Forget You" - Glee version and "Tick Tock" - Kesha