Long Runs & Ice Baths

I had a great workout for the 1st day of February. It called for 20 miles. I met Jerry Ross at the Dome and we headed out in -4 below temps. I was dressed properly, but Jerry under dressed a little and was getting pretty cold and did the smart thing and ended his run short with his wife picking him up. I did 13+ miles outside and then returned to the dome and did 7+ more on the track. Jerry and I took it pretty easy out to meet his training group which took us about 48 min. I picked up the pace on the way back and returned about 4 minutes faster. I changed my clothes really quick at the dome and grabbed some water and a gu and headed on the track. I took the 1st mile pretty easy and then decided to pick up the pace to finish the 20+ miler. Here are my mile splits at the dome:

Mile 14- 6:48
Mile 15- 6:40
Mile 16- 6:12
Mile 17- 6:05
Mile 18- 6:02
Mile 19- 5:56
Mile 20- 5:52

I felt really good and felt like I could keep that pace up for 6 more miles if I was running a marathon.

Here is the mileage for this week:

1/26- 10 miles (6am/4pm)
1/27- 11 miles (5 @ tempo pace)
1/28- 15 miles
1/29- 10 miles (6am/4pm)
1/30- 12 miles
1/31- 8 miles (10 X 100m strides)
2/1- 20 miles

Total: 86 miles

When I got home the last thing I wanted to do was take an ice bath, but I knew it would be a smart thing to do after today's workout to make me feel better for tomorrow. I filled the bath tub with cold water and threw on a sweater and winter hat and made some hot tea and submerged my lower body into the freezing cold tub. The first couple minutes are kind of brutal, but the legs get use to it after awhile. I stayed in for about 12 mintues.




I've read and heard from Jerry that an ice bath can speed up your recovery. 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.

After you get use to just the cold water from the faucet, you can make it even colder by adding bags of crushed ice or just shovel some snow into the tub too. I believe that 10-15 minutes is perfect.