asthma & endurance training

May 7, 18 10:54

Post #1 of 15 (1822 views)

Hi All,

I've never posted on this forum before, but I've read a lot of athlete's posts, which I found both helpful and inspiring!

This is my situation:

-I'm five weeks out from the Patriot Half (June 16th), and my training was going great. I recently PRd at a very cold, windy, hilly half marathon.

-Then about three weeks ago, I got a cold that wreaked havoc on my lungs. I took about a week off of training, increased my use of albuterol and started on Flovent. I increased my training load slowly after about a week, and then this weekend, I started to increase my workouts to incorporate more brick workouts. On Sat. after a 32 mile rile and mile run, my lungs were burning like crazy, and I couldn't stop coughing. I went to bed early and tried to go to swimming on Sunday. I could barely swim a length without coughing and wheezing. I went to urgent care, and they gave me a breathing treatment and 5 days of prednisone.

-I guess maybe I've developed seasonal allergies so I started taking Zyrtec as well to see if that would help with my symptoms. I think maybe my lungs never healed from the virus and the exercise and pollen have made them very sensitive and inflamed.

I'm wondering if anyone else has been in this situation. [I've never had asthma before; although I do use albuterol before long training sessions because my lungs get sore.]

And if so, what did you do? How quickly did you increase your training sessions after a more serious asthmatic episode? Is there something more aggressive I can take to treat the asthma besides oral steroids but in addition to albuterol and Flovent? Were you able to recover in time and train enough for the race?

I've already prepared myself for the fact that this won't be my A race. I'll do another half iron in Sept. but I'd still be able to finish this one, and not drown!

All thoughts, advice, insights, suggestions are welcome!
Thanks so much,

Michelle

Re: asthma & endurance training [mhboyle] [ In reply to ]

May 7, 18 11:34

Post #2 of 15 (1800 views)

mhboyle wrote:

Hi All,

I've never posted on this forum before, but I've read a lot of athlete's posts, which I found both helpful and inspiring!

This is my situation:

-I'm five weeks out from the Patriot Half (June 16th), and my training was going great. I recently PRd at a very cold, windy, hilly half marathon.

-Then about three weeks ago, I got a cold that wreaked havoc on my lungs. I took about a week off of training, increased my use of albuterol and started on Flovent. I increased my training load slowly after about a week, and then this weekend, I started to increase my workouts to incorporate more brick workouts. On Sat. after a 32 mile rile and mile run, my lungs were burning like crazy, and I couldn't stop coughing. I went to bed early and tried to go to swimming on Sunday. I could barely swim a length without coughing and wheezing. I went to urgent care, and they gave me a breathing treatment and 5 days of prednisone.

-I guess maybe I've developed seasonal allergies so I started taking Zyrtec as well to see if that would help with my symptoms. I think maybe my lungs never healed from the virus and the exercise and pollen have made them very sensitive and inflamed.

I'm wondering if anyone else has been in this situation. [I've never had asthma before; although I do use albuterol before long training sessions because my lungs get sore.]

And if so, what did you do? How quickly did you increase your training sessions after a more serious asthmatic episode? Is there something more aggressive I can take to treat the asthma besides oral steroids but in addition to albuterol and Flovent? Were you able to recover in time and train enough for the race?

I've already prepared myself for the fact that this won't be my A race. I'll do another half iron in Sept. but I'd still be able to finish this one, and not drown!

All thoughts, advice, insights, suggestions are welcome!
Thanks so much,

Michelle

Diet is important in preventing inflammation . So post what you eat so we can see what to eliminate

Re: asthma & endurance training [mhboyle] [ In reply to ]

May 7, 18 11:59

Post #3 of 15 (1779 views)

Don't take this the wrong way, but please go see a physician (preferably a Pulmonologist) rather than trying to get medical advice on a forum. You're going to get well meaning people with personal anecdotes that have nothing to do with you or your situation. Or worse.

Source: Am physician who you also shouldn't listen to (except about this)

Re: asthma & endurance training [Derekl] [ In reply to ]

May 7, 18 13:00

Post #4 of 15 (1739 views)

I hope people also mention to the doctor or PA that they are competitive endurance athletes so they are not prescribed a banned substance.

-------------------
Madison photographer Timothy Hughes | Instagram

Last edited by: Timtek: May 7, 18 14:11

Re: asthma & endurance training [mhboyle] [ In reply to ]

May 7, 18 13:09

Post #5 of 15 (1736 views)

I agree that you should see your doc before your race. I have asthma and allergies, or some combination of the two. I've used the meds you're on. They are very effective & good. Prednisone is powerful stuff. In fact, you may need to get a TUE (or whatever) to race while taking it. If you're still not breathing well after getting in the "Predni-zone," see your doctor.

Let me tell you a personal story. In my sprint race two days ago in Mission Bay (San Diego), someone started a bonfire on Fiesta Island minutes before the race started. The smoke rolled right across the water toward us. I couldn't breathe halfway through the swim. Was it my lack of swim training? Was my wetsuit strangling me? Was I just freaking out? I kept pushing on, and finally realized I was wheezing loudly as I finished the bike section. It was my asthma! I puffed my inhaler about a million times during my ridiculously slow, wheezy run. I walked the aid stations of the 5k. Pathetic. My race was a total disaster.

Looking back, I think I should have done pre-race puffs on the inhaler. I'm taking Claritin daily, but I should probably start my prescription asthma daily controller stuff again.

We all have challenges during a race. Making certain you can breathe is just one of them. I hope I do a better job of it next time. Good luck with your races!

Last edited by: Calamityjane88: May 7, 18 13:13

Re: asthma & endurance training [mhboyle] [ In reply to ]

May 7, 18 13:57

Post #6 of 15 (1702 views)

I have asthma and colds make it really bad. In those situations I just don't work out at all until it is under control and any breathing issues can be ~100% solved by a few puffs of an Albuterol inhaler. I got a cold earlier in the year and didn't work out for over 3 weeks straight. It sucked but i thought it would make it worse to try and push through it and my workouts wouldn't be that effective anyways since i couldn't breathe. Also, I was afraid to work out while taking Predisone. For me at least, it causes random heart palpitations just sitting on the couch so I couldn't imagine doing anything intense while on it.

Re: asthma & endurance training [Calamityjane88] [ In reply to ]

May 7, 18 14:30

Post #7 of 15 (1689 views)

Calamityjane88 wrote:

I agree that you should see your doc before your race. I have asthma and allergies, or some combination of the two. I've used the meds you're on. They are very effective & good. Prednisone is powerful stuff. In fact, you may need to get a TUE (or whatever) to race while taking it. If you're still not breathing well after getting in the "Predni-zone," see your doctor.

Let me tell you a personal story. In my sprint race two days ago in Mission Bay (San Diego), someone started a bonfire on Fiesta Island minutes before the race started. The smoke rolled right across the water toward us. I couldn't breathe halfway through the swim. Was it my lack of swim training? Was my wetsuit strangling me? Was I just freaking out? I kept pushing on, and finally realized I was wheezing loudly as I finished the bike section. It was my asthma! I puffed my inhaler about a million times during my ridiculously slow, wheezy run. I walked the aid stations of the 5k. Pathetic. My race was a total disaster.

Looking back, I think I should have done pre-race puffs on the inhaler. I'm taking Claritin daily, but I should probably start my prescription asthma daily controller stuff again.

We all have challenges during a race. Making certain you can breathe is just one of them. I hope I do a better job of it next time. Good luck with your races!

I was at that race and have asthma too. Doctors prescribe meds, rather than life style changes. My defeat of asthma is mainly thanks to:

- high volume training (slower than race pace).

- cleaned up diet free of junk processed foods (no junk oils like soybean, cottonseed, canola).

-heavy strength based weight lifting

If I diminish one of these 3 elements, my asthma symptoms start to come back

Last edited by: synthetic: May 7, 18 14:30

Re: asthma & endurance training [Derekl] [ In reply to ]

May 7, 18 14:32

Post #8 of 15 (1685 views)

Couldn't agree more with seeing a pulmonologist!

My history - severe childhood asthma, that I seemed to out grow. It came back when I was training for my 2nd IM in my 50's. It took building a relationship with my pulmonologist to develop a treatment that is working quite well. Since mine is predominantly exercised induced and I seem like a very healthy individual when I walked into his office, it took a while to explain what I was doing and when I had the problems. I literally pulled out my training peaks log and showed him the HR files for when I got into trouble!

Good luck!

Re: asthma & endurance training [synthetic] [ In reply to ]

May 7, 18 14:47

Post #9 of 15 (1677 views)

I wish I better understood the relationship between asthma/allergy/inflammation. I'm sure food impacts my breathing.

On a side note, the Spring Sprint bike course was totally congested (like our poor op's lungs)!! With all the recent attention on drafting and crowded courses, I was hoping to prove something to myself by racing clean. I tried, but it was a mess.

Re: asthma & endurance training [Derekl] [ In reply to ]

May 7, 18 14:47

Post #10 of 15 (1675 views)

Thanks - I'm not taking your comment the wrong way, and I already have an appt. with my Dr. and will speak to her about following up with a pulmonary specialist. That said, it's really helpful to hear people's stories and to understand how and what they say to their doctors.

People will say, "Just cut back," or "Don't do races/long distances," etc. I don't want to hear that or give up. I'm certain there are plenty of people with worse conditions than me who still train and race. I'm not willing to give this up, so I have to figure out a way to be healthy while I'm doing it!

Hearing other people's stories is one of the ways that I educate myself. It's how I learned about the sport in the first place, how to make progress, how to find a coach, a cycling studio. etc. All by word of mouth!

Thanks so much!
Michelle

Re: asthma & endurance training [mhboyle] [ In reply to ]

May 7, 18 15:34

Post #11 of 15 (1641 views)

There's no reason you should give up, or that anyone is likely to tell you to do so. But, you have clearly developed some type of respiratory condition that needs to be reviewed by a skilled doctor, eg. a pulmonologist.

My wife has asthma, and allergies. The varying nature of the conditions, and their interactions, and the drugs, and the individual are all very complex. She's not an athlete. Nevertheless, we have spent many, many hours in the Pulmonologists office, doing various tests, discussing reactions and responses to different medicines, etc. They have been very detailed, thorough, and methodical in determining the right mix and dosages with many failed attempts along the way. But, at every step of the way the Dr. was always clear, "I won't be happy until you are happy." three years ago, her previous doctor, "gave up." Two years ago, she felt like she was breathing through water....today, its not even a topic of conversation...and its the middle of allergy season.

If you are anywhere near the Dallas area...I'll be happy to give you our Pulmonologists name.

Last edited by: Tom_hampton: May 7, 18 15:37

Re: asthma & endurance training [mhboyle] [ In reply to ]

May 7, 18 17:08

Post #12 of 15 (1602 views)

No indication to me that you have asthma. I think you have the endurance athlete’s (and sometimes young people’s) disease . . . Impatience! I get it too so I understand.

You haven’t let your body heal before putting it back on the line. One week clearly was not enough and you clearly did not choose to listen to your body as evidenced by your increased use of albuterol and initiation of Flovent. Listen, I get it, you are healthy and youve recovered in the past after 1 week. Perhaps you had “walking” pneumonia (older term still in use, I think) in which case it could take 4-8 weeks to recover.
Point is that you needed to stop but ended up in a deeper hole because of the impending race, ego and all those things that make us do dumb things . I’m not sure about the whole food allergy angle or weight lifting or some of these other anecdotal “treatments,” but I do know that you need to rest your lungs. Once you get to the point that you can do an activity without needing your inhaler then you can increase to next level. So walk the brisk walk then trot , etc.
just my .02. Good luck.

Re: asthma & endurance training [IMStillTrying] [ In reply to ]

May 7, 18 17:21

Post #13 of 15 (1594 views)

Yes! I think you're right. I've never had asthma in my life!
What's interesting is that people were telling me - you can run with a cough, you can workout with a head cold, etc. Just as long as you don't have a fever, you're good. But clearly that wasn't the case.

Sometimes I don't know if I'm pushing myself too hard or not hard enough.

It's a tough balancing act.

Thanks for your responses!

Re: asthma & endurance training [mhboyle] [ In reply to ]

May 7, 18 17:55

Post #14 of 15 (1581 views)

More often than not you can run with a little head cold or with a cough as those things will typically get better despite our best (or dumbest) efforts. The body is a wonderfully resilient machine!! The trick is paying close enough attention to know when you can't. Based on the fact that you have an inhaler, my suspicion is that when you get a URI, you get a lingering cough that takes a little longer to get better. If so, you might just have a component of reactive airways without fulfilling the definition of asthma. And so when you get sick, your airways might get more inflamed which takes a little longer to heal and continued heavy use digs you in a bigger hole. The prednisone that you took will certainly boost you up and help to heal faster. It would not be unreasonable to continue to take the Flovent 2 puffs 2x/day (rinse and spit after) until you feel completely normal. If you get worse or don't get better then certainly see a pulmonologist but I bet that you will feel better soon. Just give yourself some time.

Re: asthma & endurance training [mhboyle] [ In reply to ]

May 7, 18 18:03

Post #15 of 15 (1575 views)

Just out of interest Annabelle Luxford just tried competing in Ironman Australia on the weekend as an asthmatic with a cold and went from leading the bike to being in an ambulance on a nebuliser. I'd be getting your health right before even worrying about a race.

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