The agony of training...

Well, it's not really agony to train....except those moment when you think you'll throw up (me yesterday) or you get cramps in your glutes so bad you have to hobble around the track crying to loosen them (also me yesterday).

But those aside, training itself isn't agony.

It's the recovery. If you don't stretch out right, foam roll / softball roll your muscles (or better, get a massage if you can afford it), get the right vitamins, eat healthy, etc., your body simply can't handle and recover from the workouts.

The most fun part: ice baths.

Meant to force all the lactic acid tainted blood from your muscles to help flush them clean, it's exactly what it sounds like.

You start with a bathtub of cold water. Coldest that will come out of the tap.


Add a couple of these (a couple meaning whole bags, not handfuls).


So that it looks like this.


Then comes...this.


And the mean words just come out of your mouth at the photographer.


You click "start" on the 14 minute timer (shorter or longer depending on the ice amount and the workout).


You MUST bring something to pass the time, especially the first couple minutes.


After a couple minutes, you get used to it. And the dog comes to get a nice frosty beverage.


At the end, you hardly notice how cold it is....except you notice how cold the house is, and the bed, and how you need a sweatshirt the rest of the day. But the legs? Ah, they feel SO much better, so it's totally worth it.