Taking the Plunge

I have heard people talk about taking ice baths after a particularly long run, and have even seen photos, but I never thought I'd give it a try. The only things I like cold are my drinks and my ice cream. I haven't like the cold since I got frostbitten as a child.

But yesterday, I thought I'd give it a try for two reasons:

1. The inside of my right ankle has been a little cranky after longer runs
2. After almost every run, my upper back between my shoulder blades will sweat for up to 2 hours. Ridiculous. I wondered if an ice bath would reduce my body temp.

So after yesterday's 7-miler, I filled the tub with cold water and went to the freezer for a load of ice. I have to admit it wasn't really all that bad. I didn't load it with 5 lbs of ice or anything but it was plenty chilly.

The result? Excellent. No back sweats. And my legs, knees, ankles, everything below the waist feels great. Even at yoga this morning my body felt more open.

I read the other day that sugar can cause inflammation in the body. Since sugar is one of my favorite food groups..what? Sugar isn't a food group? Maybe not on your food pyramid, but it's the bottom layer on mine, followed by chocolate, dairy, fruit and more chocolate.

I noticed after eating about 25 chocolate chip cookies last weekend, my knees were sore two days later, so maybe there's something to this sugar thing.

I thought for a second about giving up sugar but the ice baths seem a lot easier.

Oh, and by the way, the run was great. I tried to relax more and slow down to a 12-minute mile. Worked beautifully. The key really is relaxing.