September 06, 2009

Ice Baths... Necessary Evil


It Is Not My Ideaof a good time, sitting in a cold bath after a long run, which has again exceeded the 20 km mark, my injury threshold. But the experts sing the praises of an 'ice bath'. I have been modifying it to a cold bath. Full cold water. Does it count? My heart says yes. I read it should be between 50-59 degrees F. Being on the superior metric system, I have no idea what that means. So I choose ignorance and get in a cold shower, partly because I have a lot to keep track of already, and have no ice machine at home. Should I worry? I want the benefits of constricting my blood vessels and then the blood rush is thought to heal the torn fibers of the muscle from the long run. My legs, hips calves all benefit. I need to take care of things, as I have had a couple of injuries that have stalled my running career. What do you do? Thoughts?
Here is the article I recently read on the subject: http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=8731

3 comments:

Paul Abrelat said...

Hard core! I have read about the benefits as well, in the two full marathons and halfs I have run, I never have tried ice baths, showers or anything like that. Interested to hear if you are reaping any benefits (and if those benefits are worth the freezing)

Gori77a said...

Trev Wight - a champion runnah like yourself - was recommending micro-stretching, perfect for super-athletes like the three of us.

http://tinyurl.com/lq7opg

Nice calf, btw :)

Chad said...

HA! Champion shmampion. Hey, I MUST THANKYOU for the picture comment. THAT IS A CALF. I had a friend point and wonder what body part that was. It is making me think i should include a shoe. Thanks you for recognizing the correct muscle. Sheesh, it takes all kinds doesn't it? As if I would put a crazy random offensive picture on a running blog. Its gonna bug me till I change it. *SIGH*
Now micro-stretching, hmm. Ill have to see about that, might be worh a looksee in the world of google!