Heaven Is Made Of Foam?

      So I guess you can call me late to the party on this one, but I just recently purchased a foam roller.  Heaven is the best way I can describe it. At first I was hesitant to purchase one. I would see everyone writing on #runchat how much they loved them and how they would use them for recovery workouts and I have to say I was skeptical.  I am not the type of person that runs out and buys whatever other people are saying works. I am a minimalist when it comes to using products to improve my running.  
     It was a little over a week ago I was talking to a friend and he told me had just purchased one and how it was helping him out a lot.  Now what I had already heard from so many other people I was hearing from a friend who I consider reliable.  My friend has been dealing with plantar fasciitis for quote some time and it seemed like nothing was helping him. So when he texted me that he had got the foam roller and it seemed to be helping him I was sold.  I went out that night and purchased one. My friends chiropractor told him not to spend a whole lot because they all basically are the same and do the same thing.  It just so happened that me and the wife had to run to Walmart to buy my nephew a birthday gift and since we were there I figured it couldn't hurt to check and see if they sold one.  Lo and behold I found a Gold's Gym one for 18.99.

     At first It seemed hard to me. You have to be able to hold yourself up for a lot of the stretches and it was tiring.  Once I started to get into the groove over the next few days it became pretty easy and I quickly noticed I was recovering quicker from my runs and my leg pains were not coming on during runs like they sometimes would.  The best part is my roller came with a picture showing all the exercises and stretches you could do with it.  But if you are not as lucky as me, that is why there is the internet.  I searched and found tons of stretches to do and you could even print out the pictures to make it easier to look over.

    So now that I am a believer of the roller I suggest if you do not have one you go out and get one soon.  They are fairly cheap and they really work.  I like to think now that if there is a heaven it may just be made of foam because the feeling you get from using it is surreal. 

Do you use a foam roller? and any particular stretches you do?