Pedicures and Ice Baths

There is nothing better than an ice bath and a pedicure after a long run.  Not sure if I would have ever imagined that those words would have come out of my mouth...

After finishing my long runs, I am all about taking care of my feet and legs.  I use ice baths to relieve some of the soreness in my legs and to recover faster.

I fill up my bath tub with ice and water and spend between ten and fifteen minutes soaking.  The initial shock is the worst part (I do wear my running shorts to help with some of the shock of the ice water), but not having to deal with sore legs for the rest of the day is well worth the temporary pain.  

The articles I have read on ice baths are mixed.  Some state the benefits of constricting blood vessels and helping flush waste products (like lactic acid), reducing swelling and tissue breakdown.  Others site research that shows there is no conclusive proof of any benefits.  I have to go with my own experience on this one.  It has proven helpful to me on the day of and the day after long runs.

Last Saturday, after my sixteen mile long run, I went with my wife to get a pedicure.  I received plenty of grief from my Facebook friends when they heard what I was doing, but I really didn't care.  Not only did I have my nails cut, but I got to soak my feet and get a leg massage!  Oh, I also got to sit in a massage chair for like thirty minutes!  

I do have to admit that I was worried that they would not even want to work on my ugly feet (I have some serious Fred Flinstone feet).  I also had one nail that was close to coming off.  The lady did laugh at me when I almost jumped out of my chair as she scrubbed the bottom of my feet (I am crazy ticklish).  By the time she was done with massaging my calf muscles, I was feeling pretty good.  No, I did not get any color polish on my nails.

Not only did my feet and legs feel great, but I was able to spend some time with my wife after running for hours.  I have decided that this is going to be part of my recovery routine after any run over sixteen miles.  

Bring on the ice.  Bring on the pedicure jokes.  Bring on the long runs!

3 comments:

  1. lol! i can't believe you got a pedicure. the pampering does feel good. sometimes those ol' running calluses need to be tamed!

    ice baths - definitely a good thing in my book. my legs feel recovered-sooner.

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  2. What took you so long? I realized how awesome pedicures were a while back :)

    I got one just last Monday, for my birthday. The previous time, I was actually worried that the people would freak about my unsightly toenail which is, uh, strange and mangled but they filed it down and left it actually not looking too bad. I'm ticklish too and I try and keep the reactions to a minimum but it's tough.

    Pedicures are great, especially for us runners. Glad you didn't listen to the naysayers. Let them sit in a chair and experience it and then see if they talk down about it.

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  3. The worst part about my feet is the tan line I have at my ankles. My legs are tan from running this summer, but now I have the whitest feet in the world...

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