On the rocks

Closing week 16, 44 weekly km with a 22k long run. Relatively easy week, but the weather… oh the weather…
With the hot & humid Tel-Aviv summer (close to 30C at 6am!...) and in the quest for knee recovery I started experimenting with a ice baths.

Recipe:
- fill the bath with cold water about 20cm height.
- Add 20kg of ice - 13*1.5L bottles I’ve pre-frozen
("why is our entire fridge filled with bottles?!?!")
- Strip the plastic (cutting the bottles bottom)
- Wait 20 min for the water to get freezy
- Get in…

The shock and the agony are beyond words. 12 minutes later my legs felt amazingly refreshed. Highly recommended, This would definitely become a part of my routine...

Paula Radcliffe, World Record Marathoner after a race

The science behind it (From RUNNING TIMES):
"Ice baths offer two distinct improvements over traditional techniques. First, immersion allows controlled, even constriction around all muscles, effectively closing microscopic damage that cannot be felt and numbing the pain that can. Ice baths treat both injury and soreness. The second advantage involves a physiological reaction provoked by the large amount of muscle submerged. Assuming one has overcome the mind’s initial flight response in those first torturous minutes, the body fights back by invoking a "blood rush." This rapid transmission circulation flushes the damage-inflicting waste from the system, while the cold water on the outside preserves contraction. Make sure not to stay in any longer than 15 minutes; 10 minutes is usually sufficient. There is a strong consensus among the running and scientific community that all of those can be effective in both minimizing and recovering from running injuries."

Have a cool week!