Today was one of the all important rest days. I really feel like I need it. Today the spells seem to be rather strong, even Ruthann said something. While I know I have been pushing it in terms of how many miles I am doing, I think that is ok. The exertion may be exaggerating some of the symptoms (ie more spells) I am hoping that I see a decrease in the fatigue and spells as I keep up the pace. We’ll see, I may have a definite cap on the amount of energy I can put into running, but I am not going to just accept that. I will learn that though and if that is the deal, then that’s the deal.

I saw Terri Garr on David Letterman last night, she looks like she is having trouble with her ms. She also had an annurism last year and I think that was a lot of the cause of her troubles moving. Then again it could just be ms. She was in very good spirits, almost too good like she was trying too hard to show everything is ok. I’ll have to watch for that. Also be wary of the dumb ms jokes.

No, its not some sort of Harry Potter thing. When I first was diagnosed with ms I referred to me seizures as spells. I am not sure why I went back to calling them seizures. Spells was such a cooler word, sounded very Victorian to me. Maybe something I would take Mercury to cure, possibly a blood letting would help. So I want to go back to that word, especially since I thought of a new use of it today.

On my run this morning, I had several really small spells. It was sort of going back to an old regularity in a way, the pattern where I would have one at the start and then several more around 6 miles into it and afterwards. The only difference is that these were really slight. I felt them, but they barely seemed to affect me, at least my movement anyway. In fact I was able to just run through them with no problems. Also, it wasn’t like before where it was difficult to do, I just kept on running. Anyway, the phrase I thought of (you might have guessed if you read the title of this entry) is “shadow spells”. I got a creepy kick out of it this morning.

On another note, this was my third eight mile day in a row. I was really feeling it towards the end. Pooped. But it was a beautiful morning, nice and cool. For the first part of the run I even found myself running in the sun to warm up. Toward the end it (and myself) was getting to hot to do that and I found myself looking for shade.

No, its not some sort of Harry Potter thing. When I first was diagnosed with ms I referred to me seizures as spells. I am not sure why I went back to calling them seizures. Spells was such a cooler word, sounded very Victorian to me. Maybe something I would take Mercury to cure, possibly a blood letting would help. So I want to go back to that word, especially since I thought of a new use of it today.

On my run this morning, I had several really small spells. It was sort of going back to an old regularity in a way, the pattern where I would have one at the start and then several more around 6 miles into it and afterwards. The only difference is that these were really slight. I felt them, but they barely seemed to affect me, at least my movement anyway. In fact I was able to just run through them with no problems. Also, it wasn’t like before where it was difficult to do, I just kept on running. Anyway, the phrase I thought of (you might have guessed if you read the title of this entry) is “shadow spells”. I got a creepy kick out of it this morning.

On another note, this was my third eight mile day in a row. I was really feeling it towards the end. Pooped. But it was a beautiful morning, nice and cool. For the first part of the run I even found myself running in the sun to warm up. Toward the end it (and myself) was getting to hot to do that and I found myself looking for shade.

So last night I took my rebif, still at 22mg (one more to go before I hit the 44mg max). Everything went fine with the injection, it is funny folks seem so worried about the injection reaction and I have experienced none of it. I am sure it affects people differently like everything ms does. This time I took it in the back upper buttock and managed to get it in the right spot dfor a change, I had been doing it lower than I should.

I went for a run this morning and it went really well. It rained and I love the rain. I have always loved running in the rain; soggy shoes, puddle dancing and all. It struck me today that running in the rain is perfect for ms mostly because you keep nice and cool. To me the rain is also very therapeutic, the sound of the rain drops on the trees is very relaxing. I love the dark cast by the rainclouds and the mist that rises especially in the warm summers, winters choice is to bring fog.

There are some things to watch out for. On long runs wet shoes and socks can bring on blisters. I recommend bringing a spare pair of socks and changing then out at some point. If you are doing a wet marathon it might be good to have someone meet you with a dry pair of shoes along with the socks to get you through. Some folks will wear rain booties over the tops of their shoes, they are sort of like a mini tarp, with the bottom open. I have never tried them, it seems like your feet might overheat (I could be wrong), but they will keep your feet dry from the rain (won’t do anything for the puddles.)

Puddles can be a problem especially if you run on roads. Our roads in Portland aren’t in the greatest of shape due to the environment and budget/tax cuts. With out rain we get a lot of puddles. Usually you can find a relatively dry path through them. It sort of adds a fun extra challenge to make it through your run without getting soaked by running through a deep puddle. Puddles often get to be a problem on street corners as our sewer drains get clogged up with leaves and debris. Fortunately their are a lot of good citizens willing to rake the tops of the drains free of stuff so that the water can flow.

Another consideration is your shoes. One of my favorite shoes when I was wearing motion control shoes was Aisics Gel-Kayano. They felt great and kept my feet from over pronating. They were worth extra cost with one big exception (in wet weather climates) the traction on them was terrible in the rain. I would experience some slippage with my toe-off that I felt was unacceptable. Still I like the shoe enough to keep running in them. Now I am using a neutral running shoe, the Mizuno Wave Rider 10 and they are much better in the wet, no slipping at all and great traction. I took a corner turning into a park today with no troubles. Plus the Wave riders are a lot cheaper.

So last night I took my rebif, still at 22mg (one more to go before I hit the 44mg max). Everything went fine with the injection, it is funny folks seem so worried about the injection reaction and I have experienced none of it. I am sure it affects people differently like everything ms does. This time I took it in the back upper buttock and managed to get it in the right spot dfor a change, I had been doing it lower than I should.

I went for a run this morning and it went really well. It rained and I love the rain. I have always loved running in the rain; soggy shoes, puddle dancing and all. It struck me today that running in the rain is perfect for ms mostly because you keep nice and cool. To me the rain is also very therapeutic, the sound of the rain drops on the trees is very relaxing. I love the dark cast by the rainclouds and the mist that rises especially in the warm summers, winters choice is to bring fog.

There are some things to watch out for. On long runs wet shoes and socks can bring on blisters. I recommend bringing a spare pair of socks and changing then out at some point. If you are doing a wet marathon it might be good to have someone meet you with a dry pair of shoes along with the socks to get you through. Some folks will wear rain booties over the tops of their shoes, they are sort of like a mini tarp, with the bottom open. I have never tried them, it seems like your feet might overheat (I could be wrong), but they will keep your feet dry from the rain (won’t do anything for the puddles.)

Puddles can be a problem especially if you run on roads. Our roads in Portland aren’t in the greatest of shape due to the environment and budget/tax cuts. With out rain we get a lot of puddles. Usually you can find a relatively dry path through them. It sort of adds a fun extra challenge to make it through your run without getting soaked by running through a deep puddle. Puddles often get to be a problem on street corners as our sewer drains get clogged up with leaves and debris. Fortunately their are a lot of good citizens willing to rake the tops of the drains free of stuff so that the water can flow.

Another consideration is your shoes. One of my favorite shoes when I was wearing motion control shoes was Aisics Gel-Kayano. They felt great and kept my feet from over pronating. They were worth extra cost with one big exception (in wet weather climates) the traction on them was terrible in the rain. I would experience some slippage with my toe-off that I felt was unacceptable. Still I like the shoe enough to keep running in them. Now I am using a neutral running shoe, the Mizuno Wave Rider 10 and they are much better in the wet, no slipping at all and great traction. I took a corner turning into a park today with no troubles. Plus the Wave riders are a lot cheaper.

Ran my whole run this morning with my shorts inside out.

Maybe thats the secret to a good run. After my crappy run yesterday today’ went pretty well. I took my dilantin last night but I still had the seizures throughout my run. They weren’t nearly as strong and I was able to run through many of them which I decided was a bad idea. Instead slowing down to a walk seems to be the thing to do. When I get the seizures, my let leg seems to loose strength. I sort of flop my foot as I deal with the uncordination. I was able to keep running in many cases with just a floppy sort of gait. I think this may be bad for my legs and joints. So slowing to a walk for a few steps (3-5 steps) seems a much better solution.

Running through our park today their was a girls softball tourney going on. As I left the park a van pulled up and some girls got out with their mothers. Of course a seizure comes on. So I have to slow to a walk right in front of them, I hope no one thought anything weird was going on…

27.4 miles for the week, longest in awhile.

Ran my whole run this morning with my shorts inside out.

Maybe thats the secret to a good run. After my crappy run yesterday today’ went pretty well. I took my dilantin last night but I still had the seizures throughout my run. They weren’t nearly as strong and I was able to run through many of them which I decided was a bad idea. Instead slowing down to a walk seems to be the thing to do. When I get the seizures, my let leg seems to loose strength. I sort of flop my foot as I deal with the uncordination. I was able to keep running in many cases with just a floppy sort of gait. I think this may be bad for my legs and joints. So slowing to a walk for a few steps (3-5 steps) seems a much better solution.

Running through our park today their was a girls softball tourney going on. As I left the park a van pulled up and some girls got out with their mothers. Of course a seizure comes on. So I have to slow to a walk right in front of them, I hope no one thought anything weird was going on…

27.4 miles for the week, longest in awhile.

So today’s run was terrible, I just didn’t have it. Neither did my running partner. For some reason I had seizures throughout the run, about every five min sometimes less. We went up to Mt. Tabor which is my favorite run of all, although it is a long one. I love it up there, I’ll talk more about that later. The run this morning had everything go wrong with it, I forgot to set my watch until about 1.5 miles, then with all the stopping and starting I mismanaged it as well. What started out as a nice cool run, ended up being really hot, which I am sure affected my ms issues.

I have all these reasons for why it was a crappy run, but sometimes they just are. I slept well last night, so that should have had no effect. I haven’t run in several days, so I was doubly well rested. I did clean my office yesterday, so I did inhale about a half pound of dust. I ate a half a Clif bar before I went out, I had water (though I should have hydrated more along my run.

I did my rebif last night, so no supporting evidence that my runs get better after I take it, at least not today. I am going to keep an eye out on that.

I just realized that I didn’t take my dylatin last night, the meds I take for seizures. One side effect of not taking them in you get the seizures that they are supposed to control. So the increase of seizures is more the fact that I didn’t contiunally take the meds like I am supposed to rather than the meds actually taking care of them. Weird. I would like to get off of these meds. Neurologist appt.next week.

So today’s run was terrible, I just didn’t have it. Neither did my running partner. For some reason I had seizures throughout the run, about every five min sometimes less. We went up to Mt. Tabor which is my favorite run of all, although it is a long one. I love it up there, I’ll talk more about that later. The run this morning had everything go wrong with it, I forgot to set my watch until about 1.5 miles, then with all the stopping and starting I mismanaged it as well. What started out as a nice cool run, ended up being really hot, which I am sure affected my ms issues.

I have all these reasons for why it was a crappy run, but sometimes they just are. I slept well last night, so that should have had no effect. I haven’t run in several days, so I was doubly well rested. I did clean my office yesterday, so I did inhale about a half pound of dust. I ate a half a Clif bar before I went out, I had water (though I should have hydrated more along my run.

I did my rebif last night, so no supporting evidence that my runs get better after I take it, at least not today. I am going to keep an eye out on that.

I just realized that I didn’t take my dylatin last night, the meds I take for seizures. One side effect of not taking them in you get the seizures that they are supposed to control. So the increase of seizures is more the fact that I didn’t contiunally take the meds like I am supposed to rather than the meds actually taking care of them. Weird. I would like to get off of these meds. Neurologist appt.next week.

As I was doing the dishes I thought about how I stumbled into the kitchen. As I have said before, my symptoms seem to be episodic in nature. I’ll get out of a chair just fine and then take a step and stumble through the next 15 feet. My journey to the kitchen got chaotic as I accidentally slammed my plate down on the counter, then quickly cleared up as I made my way through the dirty dishes.

So how is that I can run through these spells? Sometimes I have to slow down and walk through them, but it seems to be much easier for me. Does my momentum give me the confidence to keep moving forward? Even in times on no ms I have ruminated about this. How is that I can run and not fall on my face? How is that I can glide through the obstacles of my neighborhood and not end up on my butt? Momentum carries me through, momentum gives me confidence.

Or is it the physical exertion that does something to my ms ravaged nerve system. I sat ravaged, but I exaggerate, it isn’t that bad. Maybe there is something going on in my nervous system that is affected by the exercise.

I have been really curious to find out what goes on in my body when I run. It seems like I heat up when I stop running. That makes no sense to me unless it has to do with less air rushing by me. I have run a treadmill in the gym and I got really hot with no air rushing by. Seems like I read something about the physiology of exercise, I’m sure I can find out something about it. A post for another day.