My Progress: Video 9 – The Ice Bath

Last week I found out that the Tough Guy race organizers have an official “fitness” bar that you should be able to pass in order to compete.  Their requirement?  10 miles in under 2 hours.  So I decided to run 10 miles before the race and see how I measured up.  My time?  1 hour 58 minutes.  Ouch.

Double ouch, because in the last two miles my knees gave out and I was pretty much a mess, so when I hobbled into the apartment, I practically demanded that my very pregnant wife haul her butt to the store to get some ice for an ice bath. This, I believed, would be both effective and maybe hilarious. She left to get the ice. In the meantime, I drew myself the coldest bath that I could.

Then time passed.

It was probably 15-20 minutes, but long enough for my body to cool down, my joints and muscles to ease up a bit. That, and I had stepped into the bath I had drawn, and it was so cold that my feet hurt from it.. By the time Christine arrived with the ice, I apologized deeply to her for what was a completely unnecessary trip to the store for something that now seems like a silly idea.

We did it anyway. Christine was tough for me when I was unable to be tough for myself, and I thank her immensely for that, because by God, the ice bath absolutely worked wonders on my muscles. I still hobbled like an old person the next day, but it could have been far, far worse than it turned out to be.

Click here if you are unable to view the video

I am typing this while on my way to York, on a train that happily for me, has wifi. Expect a short video of my London stop later today!

It’s happening, people! Want to donate? I’ll draw  you a portrait for your troubles!