Running with Asthma

I have asthma. I run. I run with asthma.

Sometimes I totally forget that factor in my life, and other times I don’t. This week sucked wind – literally.

I always take my inhaler before a run – that’s the routine and I usually don’t have any problems – in fact I feel like I have superman lungs when I take my pre-workout inhaler. But this week I started to have problems in between runs – wheezing, shortness of breathe. I didn’t think much of it honestly until this morning when Jonah woke me up at 4am because I was wheezing hardcore in my sleep – YAY for having a  straight up asthma attack in your sleep. I ended up going to the doctor to get a breathing treatment and some new prescriptions to help control my asthma on a daily basis. That was really my bad for letting it go that far without taking some preventative action. Now my medicine cabinet looks like a pharmacy.

I think this experience was really good for me because it made me step back and remember that yes I do have asthma and I need to be better about taking care of myself so it doesn’t escalate to this type of situation. Just because I have asthma doesn’t mean I can’t be a good runner – it just means I need to remember that I have asthma AND I run, so taking the correct inhalers is very important as well as really listening to what my body is telling me.

How do I maintain my asthma so I can keep running? 

I take 2 inhalers: the first is my daily maintenance for my asthma, Qvar. which is a beclomethasone inhalant . The second is Albuterol, which I take before running or if I get an asthma attack – its a fast acting inhaler that helps to open up my lungs. I also take a nasal spray and pill that helps keep my allergies manageable, which in turn makes my asthma happier.

I think its most import to listen to your body (aka mostly my lungs) and do what they can handle on a day to day basis. If I’m feeling kind of short of breath one day, I’ll take it easier on my run. Take walking breaks on longer runs. Don’t push yourself so hard you end up in the ER – its not worth it, trust me.

One more thought on asthma and running – don’t let it get you down. You are a runner, first and foremost, you wouldn’t describe yourself as an asthmatic who runs, so why would you think of yourself that way. Don’t let asthma get you down. You are strong, you are smart and you can run with asthma. 

On a side note…I had one of my favorite fall breakfasts today after getting back from the doctors – Oatmeal with raspberries, blueberries and almonds.

Also, my mom sent me a care package this week. She’s been sending me the best  care packages since Freshman year in college – I love that she still does even though I’m all “grown up” with a real person job and living across the country

I love how she thought to throw in some Sport Beans (mom knows its race season). Also, she snuck in some stuff to “fall-ify” my apartment. Moms are the best.

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Are you a runner with asthma? how do you maintain it?

Favorite fall breakfast?

Does someone in your life always send the best care packages or cards?

So you got a cold…

…the week before your race.

First reaction, curse out your body for doing this to you.

Second reaction, figure out a course of action to return to a healthy state asap.

This is what I’m currently going through, as you can see if you look to the right of this post, my 10K count down is closing in, and I have a cold. At first, I was in denial and then when I woke up one morning with my throat feeling like the Sahara desert and my nose like Niagara falls, I knew it was time to take action. This is my get over a cold quick course of action:

Step 1: fluids. lots and lots of fluids. So many fluids that you basically just want to chill in the bathroom to spare yourself the back and forth trips. This is  a particularly hard step when you have an office job – my co-workers probably think I was having other bathroom issues.

Step 2: Emergen-C. In the morning, I double fist my coffee with this little packet of highly potent vitamin C.

Step 3: Cold-EEZE. These are special cough drops that are clinically proven to shorten the length of a cold. I swear by these little guys. Make sure to read the directions on the box first though- they aren’t like regular cough drops…they have highly dose of meds and DO NOT chew them…take it from my personal experience, it hurts. bad,

Step 4: Take your runs easy. I go a little crazy if I don’t get my runs in. So for me, I’d rather suffer through a slow paced, highly snot filled run than lay around on that couch with tissues stuffed up my nostrils. That being said, don’t over do it. Listen to what your body can handle.

Step 5: Get lots of sleep. I usually go to bed pretty early and wake up before the sun rises so I can get a run in before work because I hate putting my run off until later in the day, but when I’m sick, sleep takes priority. So that extra hour and half of sleep in the morning is really important, and I just run in the evenings.

I’ve been doing this regimen since Monday. Not totally better yet, but loads better than I would be feeling if I was just laying on the couch with those tissues. i still have 2 more full days until my race, so hopefully I’m recovered enough to not completely die on mile 1.

So what about you? Do you have a secret to getting over a cold quickly before a race?