Diario de Egull1, 08 mar. 24

You are so wonderful. I am at awe. Thanks for sharing. I just bought one of those rollers. I like massaging limbs as well 

Awww 🥰 thank you 🙏 liv. To tell the truth I’m in awe of this body. Everyone likes to think it’s mind over matter but rest assured I feel like it’s matter over mind! lol Trust me if my mind had it’s way at times it would be rocking in a corner crying “what the heck are we doing?!?” But every time I doubt or get scared, this form pulls through and takes me to a whole other level! This body is definitely the zen master and this mind the young grasshopper in this scenario. So, I do my best to take care of her - she’s been so good to me and taught me so much ❤️ Oh, and the metal scraper thingy is pretty darn cool to if you’re ever inclined to give it a try. A lot of runners use it to help bring more circulation into sore legs for better recovery but they also have them for different parts of the body too. 

you amaze me, keep crushing it 💪 

Good work ethic; very impressive 

So much respect! I tried using one of those bumpy rollers at the gym & it hurt 😕 Maybe I need to try again.  

Amazing, as always. You’re definitely doing what works for you, keep listening to that inner voice when others try to tell you otherwise. 💕🏆💕 

I love reading your journals. I'm glad the rolling and stretching is so helpful for you! keep doing what works for you, because no one else has the right to say otherwise! I'd love to follow you on Strava if you have one 😉 

Thank you all so much. There is not one single bit of resilience you see in my experience that does not exist in spades within your own hearts. It's all there within you, just waiting to be to be tapped. Some of you have already started to tap it. Keep going...And, if my own experience touches you - it's just your own heart letting you know it's time to uncover or continue uncovering some of the amazing treasures your own physical and mental resilience will afford you. We are all capable of so much more than our own minds can remotely comprehend :-) @Sherry - If the bumpy rollers hurt you. Don't use them. The one I have, I can only use on my back, glutes, and hammies. If I attempt to use it on my calves or quads, it actually triggers my spasticity, which is why I use the metal scraper on my quads. I have a special smaller roller for my calves and a smooth little rubber ball I use for the bottom of my feet. Amazon does sell smooth, cushy rollers in various sizes. You might consider trying that kind? @Kat - I feel like your such a soul sister now. You've been such a dear supportive spirt to this girl's heart for years! I find crowds of cheering people overwhelming, but if I had one person or people on the sidelines to choose from to cheer me on, rest assured it's hands down you and Sk17! Thank you {{Big big Hugs}}. @Asarver - I do have a strava. If you would like I can DM you my name via FS messenger so you can look me up? You might even be able to scroll all the way back to February of 2023 to check out my 70.3 schedule. It runs clear through to August of last year. My training schedule was pretty grueling. In fact, at one point the hours per week I was doing were comparable to that of another athlete who was going for a podium position for her race! Mine was a backyard, not official. Although, I did a lot of research and technically made it more difficult for that reason. Which is why I trained so hard. You would never find hill runs that steep like the one's I had in my course in your average ironman. The few that are out there like that an athlete would have to specially qualify for. That being stated, with the impact to mobility I do contend with I needed to make sure I was going to finish what I started. I didn't care about times, metals, etc. or any of that stuff, I needed to ensure 100% I wasn't going to become so neurally fatigued from the MS that I collapsed which can and has happened for some MS'ers whose central nervous system becomes to zapped. So, not everyone would need to put in the hours I did or grind that hard for there first 70.3. But, I just didn't want to take chances, especially because I really consider that 70.3 a contribution to the need for more scientific research on the impact of fitness on those who have MS. Needles to say, my neurologist and care team were pretty floored :-) I just had to show them, there's more to disease management and physiological resilience than Big Pharma! But, yes I will send you my name for Strava! :-) 

What a great education I have been given via your post. I'm pleased to meet a new acquaintance sharing a wealth of information. Thank You so much! 😺 

You are welcome Laurie, and very pleased to meet you too! I'm genuinely thankful you got something from it :-)  

I will definitely dm you! I'll have to get on the desktop version. That backyard 70.3 sounds challenging! It is true that the IM branded races open to everyone tend to be open to a wide range of athletes. Its great that you were able to do the research and determine what you needed to do to be able to conquer those hills! Your hard work really is an inspiration 💖 

Awesome! Yay! And, thank you :-) And, yes I blame/owe the backyard challenge ideas to many of the ultra runners I follow who are constantly saying, "don't wait for a race to pop up! Just do it in your own backyard!" says Courtney Dauwalter who goes out for 60 plus mile runs for fun! Hahaha! It's got its pros and cons. On one hand I can control a lot of the variables which is nice. On the other hand, in order for it to feel like a legitimate challenge - I have to control all the variables and that can get tough mid training. But, not impossible ((Big Hugs)). I'll see ya on Strava! 

Egull1, up for years I did lots and lots of stretching everyday mainly because it was left over for my dancing days and I didn't think much about it. I enjoyed being flexible so for me it wasn't about exercise we're trying to do it for any particular reason so much as it was a habit. But over the last few years I've just been too tired and had too much to do and I've lost a lot of the habits I've had from that time. But since my diagnosis I've noticed a marked decrease in my flexibility as well as my issues bending that I never had before, even when I had gone a stretch without stretching. I noticed the other day when I went to go on my tippy toes that I was going to have to get back into flexing because my flexors near my ankles were very stiff in addition when I've been starting my toe touches again I've been having a lot of struggles whereas I've never had any issues and I've always been able to put my palms flat on the floor before. in addition after testing I've noticed that I've lost a lot of the abilities to touch beyond my toes with my hands and feet meaning I've lost a lot of flexibility that I had before. but further testing I've noticed other differences that shouldn't be there as well as a loss of strength I think this is related to the last years condition. I'm trying to set time aside to begin my stretches and to begin yoga cuz I think it will be beneficial to my condition it's also low impact so that's a benefit as well as you know I have issues of fatigue but I don't think that it will impact it too badly. lately since my medications have not been working as well I've been having a lot of pain, banding on my feet and legs, and extreme fatigue so I'm going to have to do some things to come about that I have read though that if I can push through with exercise that it will become easier with time or at least as my hope. I'm unfamiliar with the roller I'm not really sure if it's purpose could you explain that to me? 🤔 I did spend time today getting applications or several locations of businesses that are lower maintenance jobs several of them with hours that worth in my range that will begin needing people within a couple weeks to a month. such a big change to go from working overtime/40 hours to being a 20 hour worker I'm not sure that I'm okay with it, but Ryan just got a promotion/raise yesterday, so we will see how this works out. Honestly, it makes me want to /panic inside, but I have to trust him I have to cut back so that I can start investing in my health and our family. 

Good Morning, Leah :-) Let me get to your question here first. The roller is meant to act much like a "deep tissue massage". Whenever you work any muscle group extensively, it's going to get tight. And, if hypertrophy is taking place there is going to be a certain level of inflammation and swelling going on in your muscle fibers due to small micro tears in the inflamed muscle. This is not a bad thing at all. This is where the beauty of hypertrophy begins, because the body will immediately seek to repair those muscle fibers and make them even stronger than before, and thus strength increases. The swelling and the inflammation and water retention are just a part of the body's process of creating more strength. But, part of that process includes swelling, stiffness, and soreness. To add a little more to the mix, there is a very thin but strong tissue that surrounds your muscle groups and is interwoven throughout your muscle fibers known as fascia. We used to think muscular fascia had no real significance. But, we know now it actually contains neurons that can send out electrical impulses between brain, spinal cord, and other neurons couched in the muscle fibers themselves. That fascia can get very tight as well and make it difficult for blood to get circulated into the muscle fibers to help with repair. When one uses a roller, scraper, or one of those massage guns after a hard workout - it helps to release the fascia, relax the affected muscles, increases circulation and allows for those satellite cells to get to work on repairing the micro tears in those muscle fibers that need it. And, quicker repair aids in quicker adaption and increased gains the gym. Stretching helps in the same way with the added benefit of keeping the muscle fibers limber and flexible. There are obviously other processes attached to this scenario, but this is the gist with regards to the importance of stretching and rolling. With regards to introducing yoga back into your regimen, I am very aligned with that goal, especially with regards to MS and especially if you deal with banding (I do as well). I only posit one caveat with yoga which I have done since I about 21 years old. There will be some asanas that may exacerbate the issue at times or intensify stiffness or banding. My neurologist warned of this, but I had already figured it out. If I assume a position that aggravates the spasticity, I do stop but I don't give up doing the position for good. When banding and spasticity happen - it is such a random thing. There's no really pattern to it. Fatigue, temperature, tension, a new stimulus can bring it on. Just because I couldn't assume a stretch in one moment didn't mean the next time I wasn't able to assume it perfectly without any banding at all. And, if there is one thing I've learned in the past 7 years, even a muscle group impacted by MS CAN be conditioned to a new stimulus and find a neural workaround to do what it's being tasked to do. This is known as neural plasticity and this is the reason why I'm able to do what all the doctors and physical therapists didn't think I could do. P.S. I have a decent working knowledge of the CNS and neural plasticity just happened to be my pet bunny while in grad school though the focus was Post Traumatic Growth. I knew the medical system would never be dulling out advice during my appointment on neural plasticity when I was DX'ed with MS. So, as usual I made my own body the subject and object of my own research and voila (no more walker, and no more cane and low and behold an olympic triathlon, 128 mile century ride, and a half iron man all in one year). The science is catching up, but it's competing with big Pharma. This is just to say, if there is a yoga position or exercise you can't do, don't necessarily give up. Pull back, modify, adapt and try it again another time over and over and over again :-) The neural network will adjust if you want it too. I must say, I am heartened to hear that you're adjusting your hours to 20/week. You know as well as I - stress and neural fatigue are a HUGE component of sending and immune system into friendly fire. There are too many things in your life to love and find joy in to sacrifice it for a boss who is only interested in the "bottom line" and acts from ego and avarice rather from consciousness and heart. The universe is coming through for you dear one. Relax, take a deep breath, and allow yourself to receive it :-) Being a good receiver is just as important to health and wellbeing as that of a giver. I hope this info helps. 

Ha! That seems to be a trait all ultra runners share, the ones around here say the same thing! Alright off to message you now 😂 

WTG 👍👍🚴🚀 

Thanks so much for the information I appreciate it. It will take me a bit to move to a new job but I'm doing it. Quite frankly I'm terrified but I'm always afraid of change and this is a big one. Ryan and I are still hashing out the financial details of how it will work and I'm trying to figure out scheduling and trying to get all my ducks in a row. But we will figure it all out and make it work. You will be nice to be less in pain because pain is become a major issue as has a lot of the continuous issues with spasms and Ms related issues. And I know that Ryan is only worked between 25 and 35 hours most of our lives but I do feel rather guilty about dropping my hours down it's just not like me I don't think I've worked less than 40 hours since I was 15 heck right and I moved in together when we were 16 and I started paying the rent then. But for a person the price himself on being able to change I don't sound like I can change very much do I lol? 

*but for a person who has prided themself on their ability to change it sound very much like I'm being very flexible now does it, lol 😆.