My big question I have had (which I can find no real answer) is can I get my fatigue in shape. I have talked with my neurologist about the idea of pushing my running and she has assured me (and I have seen this concept confirmed elsewhere) that by pushing myself past the limits of my fatigue that I am doing NO damage and not furthering the damage done by my ms. But she hasn’t been able to tell me if I can get my fatigue in shape, by that I mean through repeated exercise can I extend the time I can run and be fatigue free.

So I figure, as with just about everything with ms, that I need to discover for myself and my body and my ms what I can do. Experimentation is the name of th game. My primary symptom has been these seizures that last anywhere from 4-10 seconds, usually on the 4 second end. So I am keeping a record of my seizures and running in my running journal (a must for any runner). Here is what I have noticed so far. Just about every time I run I experience a small seizure at the beginning of my run and usually in the same place on my route (which would support my pre-diagnosis theory that I was allergic to something environmental, but I think it is more). Then I have a period of time that has been anywhere from 2-3 miles and more frequently around 5.5 miles where I have nothing. at the 6 mile point or so the spells (much better word and so Victorian!) seem to come every 5 mins or so. This seems to be the case whether I run further or I have run 6 miles and am doing my cool-down routine. I have also noticed that at the 5.5 mile point if I stop for any reason a spell will hit. Perhaps this has to do with some sort of heat level in my body and the stopping either elevating or cooling quickly it. I would like to read more about the physiology of exercise. More for another day perhaps.

It is curious to me why I have a period of time in my run after the initial spell where I have nothing. The 5.5-6 mile point where they more or less consistently return is puzzling as well. Does my body hit some sort of heat level where the spells abate and then another heat threshold where they return? Possibly I need to hook myself up to one of those vo2max testing machines but modified for my results. Hmm…

So like I was saying I want to know if I can extend that 5.5-6 mile threshold. Once I hit that point and the spells return I can keep running, I just have to slow down and walk through them or stop and look around. Oddly it always seems to happen when I come across someone working in their yard. So I have to stop and they wonder what the heck I am doing. Oh well. So I am going to try to keep pushing myself to a certain point and see what happens. One of the downsides of pushing myself is that I have a tendency to go to far and be pooped. Usually that happens after I return from running and start on chores or yardwork or going out. That is when I pay.

Another thing that seems to effect this threshold is the temperature, the hotter it is the quicker the spells return. Or Saturday when I was really feeling it in my lungs from being sick. The spells seemed to come back quicker around mile 4.5. Maybe it is a time, heat, energy level thing, some crazy formula that I should be able to come up with to determine how far I can run. I knew math would have a part in this!