Step 1: Have a hot beverage ready (a “tall” is not enough!)
Step 2: Get two bags of ice.
Step 3: Run cold water into tub, and get in, fully dressed, with a big sweatshirt on top.
Step 4: Add ice, set timer for 15-18 minutes.
Step 5: Read or carefully play with smartphone (i.e., don’t drop it in the water!) to take your mind off the cold. Wiggle your toes and flex your feet from time to time to make sure they don’t freeze.
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
YOU WIMP! Why wear clothes? GET NEKKID!!!!! 🙂
Steena, You are so funny. You make me laugh. I know I am a wimp. I can't stand the cold. In the summer I still take steaming hot showers. My first ice bath I didn't know what I was doing so I got in with my clothes too.
Why???? And I agree with steena… wimp! (I mean… socks??? Really??? :P)
You midwesterners think you're so tough! Did you see how much *ice* I used? I'd get frost bite if I were nekked!
Have you ever heard of the Polar Plunge? It's what we do round here.
I'm replying again because I think I finally found that thing to fix for my comments to link back to me… TESTING, 1,2,3, TESTING.
I think you're lying, I still see my Goggly mess :p
Love step #5!
I always wonder about ice baths. I'm sure I will have to succumb to them eventually as I get into harder long runs. I'm going to be a super wimp with them though!
I've been a runner for 10 years, and only just now tried this and I am hooked! It really helps elimate the tired/heavy leg feeling after a long run. You should try it during your Half training. 🙂
Brrrrrrrrrr….
2 bags of ice?!?!? I'm clearly too much of a wimp!
Maybe one would have been enough, but it didn't seem *that* cold when I used 1 bag a few weeks ago (we do have a big tub). I wanted to check the temperature (Runner's World says it should be 50-60), but my husband couldn't find a thermometer that would work!
Oh my goodness…I cannot bare the cold…but I do think I need to try this! My legs were dead for two weeks after my half marathon, and I think an ice bath would've helped.
I'm just not very brave when it comes to…ice.
Oh, Angela, you should try it! I was sooo chicken too, but it really wasn't that bad (make sure you add the ice last, after you are in the water), even feels good, and makes a huge difference later!
Great info. I think I would be too chicken to be on my phone in the tub. I'd read a magazine. I think the ice bath will grow on me. Will try them more often not that it is hot. I feel like I need one tonight after my heavy leg training yesterday and my Taebo Class tonight.
Hmm, not a runner but I do like to walk along the shoreline at our w/e apartment on the Chanel with the water up to my knees (and sometimes a bit higher depending on the waves). The temperature is about right and the legs feel envigorated afterwards.
Apparently Im nuts as that looks….divine.
I hate being cold! I don't know how you do that. I hear the benefits, but isn't it torture to sit there for 15 minutes? How do you warm up? More coffee after?
Oh, I hate being cold too. I think the cold is so intense that it feels different. And if you have any aches and pains, it feels good. A big sweatshirt and a big cup of coffee help. After I'm done I jump in a hot shower, although I've heard that you shouldn't do that right away.
This is a great post Coco..I've had a few ice baths myself and do recommend them, but this was a first- fully clothed! I can see a sweatshirt, though I wouldn't like getting it wet, (a cut sweatshirt would work) but the rest- why? Socks?? (Ha- just read the previous posts, yep Coco..get nekkid!)
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I like this edition not so bad after your descriptions. Will try after my next long run. Yes. I will have me some tea and a sweatshirt. Yay!
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Great post, I started doing ice baths during marathon training this year. I also throw a towel in the dryer and have my hubby bring it to me to wrap around my shoulders. It helps! 🙂
Thanks for linking up to Throwback Thursday, come back in June! 🙂
I know this one’s old, but I’m checking this out linked for your fueling post… I’m new to longer distances and have just started training for my first half marathon. How long does your long run has be before an ice bath becomes helpful to you? I suppose that answer is probably different for every runner, but I’m wondering what to expect in terms of dead legs as I increase my mileage.