Ice, ice, baby

The temperatures turned out to be relatively tolerable for today's 12.3 miler (yes, a little OCD when it comes to mileage). That said, the ground was still a mix of dry pavement, ice, snow and salt, so I was still not too disappointed that this was a cut-back week, after 15 milers the last 2 weeks. Still, it's always better to go out expecting the worst and being pleased when it turns out better than planned.

Despite "better than expected" temperatures, it was still a brisk 14 degrees to start, 19 to finish. I have once again made it a habit to take an ice bath after my weekly long run. I started up again after a really hard run 2 weeks ago and it seemed to reduce the soreness later in the week. So, now I'm hooked.

The routine goes like this: stop by Tedeschi's on the way home from the run and pick up 2 5lb bags of ice. After a quick snack (it's bad enough I'm going to sit in ice for 10 minutes, I am not going to do so hungry!), fill up the tub with cold water while boiling some water on the stove. This is for the hot tea I will hold onto to at least keep my insides warm. Remove the clothing on my lower half. Articles of clothing upper half stay put. Today that included my ski hat. Dump in the 2 bags of ice, take a deep breath and get in. Immediately, I start my stopwatch so that I don't spend a second more than my required 10 minutes in there.

Sometimes I wonder which is worse, the run or the ice bath afterwards. However, I'm running the best I have ever run. Like the football fan during his team's playoff run, I will continue to do the equivalent of wearing my lucky socks and sitting in the same spot on the couch each week. Only my big game is on April 18th.