Asthma reared it's nasty head again

Went to Long Run Park for the first race in the Spring Series. Rain and 36F were the conditions. Rain was steady for the hour leading up to the women's race and during. I warmed up by riding out of the park for a bit and then jumped on the trainer. We were all soaked to the bone well in advance of the start. I was feeling good and got out of the blocks very well and fast, passing numerous women before cresting the hill. As I hit the backside and the gradual uphill I lost momentum (as is typical) and was passed by many. We came around and I pushed up the hill crossing the start line and sprinted to the top again. When I hit the backside on the 2nd lap my lungs shut down. It was like a wall was at my breast bone and no air would go deeper. I tried relaxing, slowing my spin, shifting to easier gears, long slow deep breaths, but nothing was working. I'd taken 2 puffs on the inhaler 40 minutes before I started exerting on the warm up. Didn't have it on my body for the race, but left it in the car. Needless to say I abandoned the race, which I am not proud of or happy about.

Tuesday, I rode worlds, got my arse handed to me and had some sniffles and cough but nothing problematic.

Last night I went to the park to ride and within 15 minutes the asthma started again. I was wheezing and choking and miserable, but the legs felt great! I signed up for Saturday's race, but am worried that I'll have another attack. Need to think seriously about what I can do, maybe benedryl at bedtime Friday night. I'm just not sure. I've not had issues for over a year like I have Sunday and Wednesday.

Crossing my fingers

I finished week #1 of coolrunning.com's Couch to 5K in 9 weeks!

Today has been a good day for me and fitness! As I stated in my earlier post, I got in a good 60 minute workout on the trainer this morning. I felt very good following that.

I've had some issues with getting this first week behind me for the 5K program though. The weather has been either cold or rainy or both. I have no problems with running in the rain if the temps are in the higher 60s.

I have major asthma issues with any type of physical exertion in cooler temps, starts bothering me once we drop into the low 40s. I've been reading quite a lot about both cold air and exercise induced asthma recently. It seems that swimming is one of the best exercises to do if you have asthma due to the high humidity and wamer air temps. One exception is if you are sensitive to chlorine, which can trigger an attack. The drier the air is, the more likely it will irritate your bronchial tubes and cause an increase of mucus and restrict the airways which translates to wheezing.

The temps were right at 39F when I went out for my workout today. Hubby gave me a couple of his dust masks he uses when he's running his woodworking tools. They are made of paper with a metal strip over the bridge of the nose that is bendable and soft rubberband that goes around you head/neck. This worked very well for me today. I wore it during the first 2/3s of the workout. Then removed it for the walking part and put it back on for the running part for the remainder of the workout. It's not the most attractive thing to wear. It gets a little on the icky side too. Moisture builds and builds inside, but it keeps the air that you breathe nice and warm and moist. I also take 2 puffs on my fast-acting inhaler about 15 minutes before a run. This helps open those airways up nicely.

One of the girls at work is starting a once a month Yoga class for beginners in the next week or so. I'm excited about this. I'll get some stretching, which should help with the riding/running I'm doing. But what I'm most excited about is the breathing you learn with Yoga. I need better breathing techniques and learn to relax my breaths while exercising. This should also help alleviate some of the ashtma/wheezing stuff, too. At least I hope it does!

One week until the wedding

It's been so hot for so long, I've been wondering if we'll ever see a nice summer day again, before slamming right into Autumn. We've had 90F + days for the entire month save 1 so far. Many of these days have reached 100F or more. I live in the Ohio Valley. It holds moisture and the air is always heavy. Probably not the best place to live if you have asthma or other breathing problems.

I hate to get my hopes up too soon, as forecasts tend to change daily. For now, the forecast for 1 Sept (wedding day) is 82F and very low chance of precip. We may need sweaters, not! I hope this holds true. The ceremony and reception will be outdoors in my back yard.

I've been concerned about the dress I'm wearing showing each drop of sweat, so maybe I won't sweat now. At least not like I have every day so far this month.

Anyone reading this, please send good Karma this way!

Didn't make it to the track this morning

But I put in 6.8 miles on the stationary in 25 minutes and burned 250 calories (that'll be good for a beer or two). Not as fast as I'd like, but I haven't ridden since Wednesday. I have to stop putting 2 days between rides. I know life happens, but I feel like I'm never gonna get better and I start feeling very guilty about it.

I really wanted to make it to the track this morning. It was a cool 65 degrees with no humidity, which is a great treat after the last 3 weeks of hot, humid, hazy and nasty stuff we've been dealing with. But I got up Friday with a crick (pull or something) in my left shoulder blade that radiated to my shoulder, up my neck, and down the left-most side of my back. I thought I just slept weird, but it bothered me all day. I woke up with morning about 5 feeling miserable and worse! Tried to get comfy and went back to sleep (should've just gotten up then). It was better when I got up at 7, but still bothered me quite a bit so I ate something and took my Chantix and Aleve. I didn't make it to the track.

Oh yeah, 10pm tonight will be 26 days tobacco free!

I'll try to be good and get there tomorrow morning. Pray the humidity is still low, even though the temps will be 10 degrees warmer. Humidity is the worst for my breathing since I have asthma. It makes me feel like I have a huge weight on my breastbone and inhaling is laboured. Funny, I have no issues with exhaling. Yes, I always carry my fast acting inhaler, I don't leave home without it!

My Sis told me not to kick myself, that I'm doing great. I love her so much! She's training for the Chicago marathon and had a 16 mile run this morning. She said it was great and averaged under 10 minutes a mile! This will be her 2nd marathon. I'm very proud of her and her accomplishments, too!

The sun did come up and it has been a decent day

another day of waking and saying, "no cigarettes today". Sounds easy, but it's not. I told my quit buddy how proud I am of her and how lucky I am to have her going through this with me. Can't have too much support or enough pats on the back.

It's finally cooling off a little bit. I'll get up to temps in the 60s tomorrow! We had a record 105F on Thursday and it was a miserable day. I plan on going to the HS track by 7am and see if I can make it the full 4 laps without stopping again. I'm hoping I can run more than half of it, but we'll see.

I had lunch with my sister today. I was nervous, but got the nerve up to tell her that I'm uneasy about this new relationship she's in. It's a gut thing. Can't really say I've been around the guy long enough to make a good judgement. She was very open minded and told me that I should be able to say anything to her. I love my Sis!