As I’ve been building up for IMCdA I’ve started to notice that I get pretty bad congestion/phlegm following some of my rides or runs. It lasts for about 30 minutes and includes coughing and wheezing. I’m not sick and it doesn’t happen after every ride and never after a swim. Have noticed it in the past but it seems more pronounced this year. If there is a pattern, I do notice it more after harder rides or runs. Any thoughts or remedies?
You have a severe case of “Ineedtogoseeadoctoria”.
Hard to imagine how you could cure that. 
-Jot
As I’ve been building up for IMCdA I’ve started to notice that I get pretty bad congestion/phlegm following some of my rides or runs. It lasts for about 30 minutes and includes coughing and wheezing. I’m not sick and it doesn’t happen after every ride and never after a swim. Have noticed it in the past but it seems more pronounced this year. If there is a pattern, I do notice it more after harder rides or runs. Any thoughts or remedies?
I had that for years, finally went to the doc and was told I had exercise induced bronchospasm (EIB, used to be called exercise induced asthma).
Jot is right (for once), get thee to a doc.
John
I have similar really bad coughing spats after hard efforts, but not actually coughing up anything. I (and a few doctors) thought it was exercise induced asthma. The last doc I saw, and apparently the smartest, gave me one of the flow meters to measure my lung capacity before / after workouts. It turns out its much higher after a hard workout, which pretty much rules out exercise induced asthma. So…in case you get that diagnosis you might want to check it.
Get it checked out ASAP so that you don’t compromise your training. My friend trained for IMWisconsin last year, got 1/2 way into the swim, had a bout of exercise induced Asthma, started coughing up blood and had to DNF. He was pissed. Afterward, Dr. told him that if he had just hit an inhaler before he went into the water, he would have been fine. He didn’t even know that he had this condition. You are lucky if you find out now, not during the race. Ps. I’m training for CdA also. Good luck!
Classic EIB. See an MD.
thhink about singulair daily as opposed to just albuterol prior to exercise- see what your doc says.
I’m a medical student right now…and it sounds like leprosy
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EIA/EIB. I had the same problems. Make an appointment with your family doc. I never had problems until I was 21-22 years old.
My doc said he had read a paper citing lots of swimming in high chlorinated pools could be a link. I never did research it any more(so it could be bunk), but it would make sense in my case as I always swam in the lake as a kid.