Last year as I was preparing for IM Wisconsin I expoerienced a syndrome that was annoying. When doing long sessions 5 - 7+ hours on the bike and then running, I would get an irritation in my windpipe near the end of the work out (like the last 30 minutes). It would make me somewaht shallow of breath and if I breath very deaply it was almost as if I was about to blow chow.
I chalked it up to hot weather and potentially de-hydration.
I just did my first ouside 3+ hour ride and experienced the same thing. Is it just lung exasperation from stretching long rides? Is it dehydration? Any other ideas?
Anybody else ever experience this… it seems to pass within an hour or so after I am done.
It comes on slowly - usually at the end of a ride or brick. Started last summer after a 5 hour ride with a 1 hour run. Only happens on my long workouts and not every time.
It continues for about an hour after the end of the workout regardless of what I do.
It is not stomach orlented - more windpipe and lungs. That is why I though of dehydration… but it feels like my body is very tired of breathing.
Not really pain… just irritation.
Not other symptoms other than feeling wiped out - like most long extending workouts.
I wonder if the body is just telling me that I have pushed the workout far enough.
Never smoked… no asthma, allergies or resp. problems in the family…
I have had chlorine induced asthma at a poorly serviced pool with bad circulation a few years agao (isolated incidence)
No wheezing - just uncomfortable with deep breaths
I live in Kansas - 50 miles outside of Kansas City - happend just this weekend and it happened in August of last year.
I suspected one of two things… dehydration - or just pushing beyond my current fitness level. I wondered if the lungs and wind pipes have to aclimate to additional work load, as well as temperature changes, just like other parts of the body.
does it feel like you just can’t breath very deep wothout coughing for a while? the same thing happens to me after epic workouts, either long or hard, but only when the weather gets pretty hot.
1st. The fact that you are concerned enough about this to ask means that you should get it checked out, especially before the season really gets cookin.
Chances are it is somethign along the lines of exercised induced asthma… but I really can’t say over the internet… if it is then it is pretty simple to treat…
The other reason you should get it checked out is that the extreme stress of your workout may be uncovering something underlying that may be getting worse.
Other questions you might think about are…
does this same thing happen if you are working out in another city? indoors?
Get it checked out… the worse thing that happens is that you spend some time in the doctor’s office and you get checked out for everything else while you are at it
good luck… I’m sure you were hoping for something more definative, but the only definate is that it may be worth checking out