Having read quite a lot about various athletes who take ice baths after runs, and done some minor research on the subject, I decided to have a go myself on Monday, writes Hannah Webster.

The idea of them is basically like icing your muscles with an icepack – only far more deeply and effectively – to speed up the recovery process after a tough workout by flushing the toxins out of your muscles. At this point in my schedule, with less than 10 weeks to go before the marathon and having only run eight miles at a time so far, I need to make ultra sure I do not get injured again.

Basically, I need all the help I can get to cross that finish line, and now I seem to be nearly back to fighting fit, I refuse to allow my knee any chance to give me any problems now. So – ice bath it is.

And it is not a comfortable experience. In fact, for the first five minutes I had no idea what to do with myself. I had brought a magazine in to take my mind off the shock of plunging my muscles into such cold water, but I couldn’t pick it up. All I could do was sit there, making failed attempts to control my breathing until I felt so numb that it didn’t bother me as much.

I am quite proud of the fact that I stayed in the tub for 12 and a half minutes, and despite the mental and physical difficulty of doing this, I can say it was all worth it. I have barely had any aches or pains following the run, and although my knee was starting to feel a bit dodgy again, that seems to have cleared up – touch wood.

Strangely enough, I had this experience days after my first seaweed bath, which is also said to promote recovery. It is a warm seawater bath filled with seaweed, which makes the water go very viscous and soapy, creating various benefits for your skin and muscles.

Unfortunately, I did this while on holiday as more of a relaxing experience and didn’t run beforehand, so I can’t say whether it would help me recover in the same way an ice bath did. But I had a chat with the manager of the baths (in Sligo, Ireland) and he used to compete as a triathlete for Ireland. He said the thing that worked best for him after a run was a warm seaweed bath.

The fact that I don’t have fresh seaweed or seawater in order to recreate the experience at home is a shame, because given the choice, there is no contest in terms of comfort.