Cold Water Treatment & Stretching (Read 618 times)

Hi, I have just started my "long runs" during my training for the Dublin marathon. I have heard that there are many benefits of having an ice cold bath after training. After my long run yesterday i put freezing cold water on my legs while i was having a shower and my legs did feel really good after it. I am just wondering if anybody uses cold water after long runs and what your routine is? Do you stretch before using it, do you have a bath or shower, would you only use it after long runs or all the time etc... Cheers, James

James, Some folks do use ice baths, standing in cold stream, or cold water in shower or whatever after hard workouts for recovery. It keeps swelling down. Some argue that bath (or other type immersion) is better than just spraying it on (shower). I've done it both ways, but only trying bath if my legs are really sore after a long run. I will not use a cold bath in winter. (After being out for a few hours in subzero F, my body only wants to get warm.) I find the cold bath can be helpful, but most of the time, I think I'm just as good with cold water in shower on legs. For me, standing upright and moving can still be helpful even a couple hours after a long run (multi-hours), so cold water in shower fits that routine, whereas sitting for 10 min in a cold bath is contrary to that. My typical routine after a long run is to eat - either snack or meal, depending on time of day / length of run and what my body feels like. I probably walked / some stretching at the trail head and will continue standing, moving, some light stretching, whatever while cooking - and sometimes while eating. I don't think about shower or bath until I've eaten and body is somewhat in equilibriums with rest of world again (more important in winter). My bath and shower are on different floors. If I take a bath, I'll fill the tub with cold water to above hip flexors, put a light fleece top on me, and get in for 10 min. That's enough for me to be incipient cold water injury and borderline hypothermic. Our tapwater is cold enough that I don't add ice, as that would surely have negative impacts on my toes (cold injury). I could wear more clothes, take something hot, etc, like some do, but that's a bunch more work. After bath, I'll wait about an hour or so (usually on computer) for body temperatures to reach equilibrium again, then I'll take a hot shower, followed by cold water on legs. If I just take a shower, I just eliminate all the bath-related steps in above paragraph. Much easier. For me, at my training level (beginner), that works fine. But note that I refuel / hydrate and move around a bunch before considering either bath or shower. I can definitely live without the cold bath. Also, cold water works better for general leg soreness than ice packs, since packs only hit localized area. I'll use ice packs for local soreness (like falling on my knees). (Note: I generally don't even consider a bath unless my legs are sore - multi-hour long run, lots of downhill, whatever. Cold water on legs works fine for me for most things, including most long runs.)