March 24, 2012

asthma and running

So I write every spring about my damned asthma.  I believe it is when denial meets the desire to go faster try harder with all the sunshine and great weather.  Since a terrific and lovely party at Christmas where a bitch sat near me and triggered my asthma, I have contemplated getting checked out but denial set in.  That bitch was a dog.
When one has lived with asthma like I have for all their lives, you might say that you learn to live with certain realities.  People maynotice that you are breathing with a wheeze.  You miht be caught somewhere with no inhaler because you werent prepared.  People might not understand what asthma is and think you are dying.  YOU might think "Im dying",but not think anything about it. 


Then came running which even further complicates things.  MY asthma is virutally healed.  VIRTUALLY is the key word.  I still have my allergens.  However, my oxygen intake is so strong, one might never know, so it is now with my lungs, I can live in denial for longer, but woner if its me getting old or is it the now-hidden even better" disease I live with?  Im betting on the disease now.  I took a blow-test (Peak flow meter) and scored better than those who have no asthma (over 600).  Click here for more on peak flow meters.
Signs for me:
I need my inhaler more.  (That might be a DUH!).
Cold air for me causes slight coughing.
Energy levels while running are lower than I want, even when conditinos are ideal.

If you are having a hard time controlling your asthma, a treatment of your inhaler at the ER at your local hospital can dialate your capillaries and get you back on track.  It gives the medication more punch by better dispersing it through a mist.
Cheers!  And happy breathing.

5 comments:

Brian Vinson said...

sucks to your ass-mar

Chad said...

its funny that I knew that was a quote from the Lord of the Flies! How well read am I???

Stan (9run.ca) said...

thanks for sharing. while i don't have asthma myself, my wife and son do and it gets really bad during changes of seasons or when it's not managed properly. maybe i should get them on a running program too :).

Chad said...

YES! I have found it has helped everything asthma wise, but has posed its own interesting mysteries, as I need to monitor my symptoms in a nw way, i admit I am not always that skilled at it~! Running rocks for oxygen efficiency for sure.

Brian Vinson said...

I'm glad you're well read enough that you knew where that came from ;-)