Yes, I was wearing swim trunks.

After feeling much discomfort after the 1/2 marathon (more than on any training run, even those with many more miles) I finally gave in and tried my first ice bath.  I followed the instructions found on the running blogs at about.com and all went well.  It was simple, painless, and I feel a HUGE difference afterwards.  I simply cannot get over how much of a difference there is.

In the past I have taken a short swim in the pool after a long run, and that seemed to help a great deal.  However, the pool is currently empty and in the process of getting a new surface.  So without the swim after my recent half marathon I realized the HUGE difference it makes.  The pool will not be resurfaced for a couple of weeks, so I had to do something and chose to give this ice bath thing a try.  I can tell you that I will continue to do the ice bath, even after the pool is back.

Oh, and it wasn’t too bad.  I simply laid back and read a magazine for the 15 minutes. 🙂