On Saturday, I drew my first ever ice bath. I did this because I haven't ran 8 miles since my last 1/2 marathon in October and my mileage increase was pretty sudden. I wanted to be able to walk on Sunday, and the fact that my legs were already hurting me after my run told me that something needed to be done ASAP.
I've always read that icing after long runs works wonders for your muscles. After I got up on Sunday and walked 3 miles to the Air & Water Show, I'm a definite believer in ice baths.
Here's what I did:
-I filled our tub up just enough to cover my legs with cold water(our "cold" isn't very cold at all, it's more of a room temp/cold).
-After the tub was filled to where I wanted it, I got in (with swimsuit bottoms!) and a sweatshirt and dumped one big bag of ice into the water and on top of my legs. I was very surprised at how refreshing this felt! I sat in there for about 15 minutes.
Benefits of ice baths
-Reduces recovery time
-Reduces muscle pain/soreness (inflammation)
You can read in more detail here about ice baths and how it works on your body.
I'm off to taste test some flourless peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I made :-) I hope they taste as good as they smell! I'll be back tomorrow with the first "Wedding Wednesday" post!
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