Taper time thoughts

Well, the race is almost here, almost all my training runs are in the book, it won't be long until I have to get up at some crazy hour to go to the start of the National Capital Marathon for the 7am start time.

I thought it would be fun to put together some running tips/ideas that I have learned/used over the last 3 and a bit years.

1. Ice baths

Why? Why would you come in from a run out in the cold, wet and wind (as we have been having here lately) and then sit in a bathtub of ridiculously cold water? It is pretty unpleasant (to begin with) but it has enormous benefits to recovery and muscle healing. Here's why:

When you run, your muscle cells (fibers) suffer all sorts of mechanical stresses. Sometimes the muscle fibers are too weak to withstand these kinds of insults and they break. This is known as muscle micro-trauma. Muscle fibers breaking and then regenerating back into their original spot is the basis of strengthening and improving the muscle fiber and ultimately the muscle itself.

The trouble with this is that when the muscle fiber breaks, it has to be degenerated and then regenerated, whilst this is happening pain fibers in the muscle fiber can become exposed and more sensitive to chemical stimulus. That is why after a hard workout, your muscles can ache/hurt for 3 (or sometimes more) days as the muscle fibers go about repairing themselves. Often, the soreness doesn't occur straight away, this is known as delayed muscle onset soreness (or DOMS). DOMS has nothing to do with lactic acid. Lactic acid is a buzz word for selling products aimed at speeding muscle recovery. How many times have you seen a product that boasts that it can "flush out all the built-up lactic acid"? Evidence exists that the lactic acid has long since been metabolized away and may even be beneficial to muscle fibers as a stimulus like hard exertion.

Conversely an ice bath can help speed up the recovery (notice I don't say, eliminate DOMS, the muscle fibers still have to degenerate and then regenerate). The plunge into the cold bath with slow down metabolism around the injured sites for a short time and help reduce any painful swelling that might occur. The real benefit is after the bath, as the muscles warm up there is increased blood circulation to the legs and this helps get nutrients to the damaged muscle fibers, and help clear metabolic waste more quickly thus speeding up muscle repair.

How to do it right:

1) As soon as possible after a race, long run, or hard run, start filling your bathtub with cold water (I find that my tap water is icy cold enough, you may want to add a few trays of ice of you live in a warmer country) until it is deep enough to submerge up to your waist when sitting down.

2) While the tub is filling, make a hot drink or prepare a bowl of soup, have a watch handy, something to read and a towel to rest your back on (the tub will be cold). Some people like to wear something on their upper half or feet, I prefer to just go au naturel.

3) Take the plunge and get in, don't torture yourself just say "1-2-3" and plunge yourself as quickly as possible, if you try to lower yourself slowly, you'll chicken out as soon as your bum touches the water. Scream out if you need to when your legs go under, I find it helps.

4) Sit with your legs submerged for 10 to 15 minutes. I pass the time reading a book and slurping down some hot soup (this also helps get post-run nutrients into the body, so they can get to work on your muscles).

5) When it is time to get out, don't dive straight into the shower, the temptation is immense, the slower your legs warm up the better. Just towel off and slip on a bathrobe while you continue with your post-run meal (I recommend peanut butter on wholewheat toast with sliced banana).

6) 30 minutes after the ice bath and you can hit that well earned shower.

After the first one, it does get easier, after the initial plunge the worst is over, and you'll save yourself a couple of days moving around like a robot on stiff/sore muscles.

More tips/tricks to follow...