Glad I had this picture of just the foot bath with some ice in it so I don’t have to show you any pictures of my feet.

One of the nice things about training in the summer is, if I’m doing my long run on a Saturday, which I’ll often do, when I come back from my long run.

Usually I’m ridiculously sweaty, and sitting around the house is not an option.

But I can sit on the back deck, where there’s usually still a little shade.

So I will stretch in the driveway, then come through the kitchen, maybe whip up a quick egg something-or-other, and head out back with my food, a cup of coffee, and sit and do the crossword.

I can’t do that in the winter.

Most of the time, especially after the long long runs, I’ll take the extra minute to fill my foot bath with water, maybe some epsom salt, and I’ll spend 25-30 minutes soaking my feet while I’m back there too.

In the winter (or when I don’t feel like sitting outside) I’ll use the foot bath indoors - the only trick is I usually need to move a chair closer to an outlet to plug it in.

I got this foot bath a couple of years ago, when my dogs first started barking after long runs. (Probably after my second marathon?)

I always feel better after I use it.

I can set it to heat the water, I can set it to try to keep the water cool (although I just usually throw some ice in if I need it to be a cold foot bath), I can run some jets on my feet, I can throw on a little massage.

There’s a pumice stone in there that revolves, too, but I don't use that much - once I tried rubbing a tender part of my foot on there because it was hurting and I kind of rubbed it raw and had to take it easy even walking on that part of my foot for a few days.

The foot bath works so well I considered getting a full-body ice bath that I saw on sale last winter.

The problem with that was I didn’t know how to store the water without it getting funky - I don’t understand that unless people are using it once and dumping it and wasting a ton of water.

The foot bath doesn’t feel like a lot of water to waste - I’m getting a good amount of use out of that water before I dump it.

The immediate aftermath of a long run is a little busy for me, between making something to eat and the stretching and the filling of the water bath and toting everything back and forth to the table out back.

But once I’m settled in and my feet are in the bath, it’s one of my favorite things to do.