Running with Asthma

I don’t like saying it, because I feel like it’s an excuse. I do have asthma, and I do not let it stop me from doing what I love to do. I guess I should have mentioned this in one of my earlier blogs. With my doctor, I have found the right combination of my inhalers that allows me to run without having attacks. I usually find it’s the recovery period after I stop running that is the toughest on my lungs. It is still very difficult outside in the cold, and a big reason I prefer to run in the warmer weather. Because of that, I have a full mask that covers my nose and throat when I run outside. I do feel like a bank robber with it on, but it has made the difference and allowed me to run at my normal pace without feeling like I will never be able to catch my breath again. It basically warms up the air before I breath it in. With that being said, I was able to get outside twice this week. The first was Wednesday afternoon, and it was 35 degrees. What a difference from running in the low teens that past few weeks. By the middle of the run, I was taking my gloves off, and pulling up my sleeves I was so hot. Everything I read, says to plan on 20 degrees warmer than what it actually is outside. I didn’t on Wednesday. Then reality set in that it is still winter when my Sunday long run came along. Today we did 15.5 miles out at Chestnut Ridge with those pesky hills again. The temperature when I started was 29 degrees, and there were constant snow flurries throughout the run. After a few miles, it turned out to be a light snowfall, to the point where it felt like I was running with snow shoes on.. making it harder to pick up each foot as the bottoms of my shoes were building up plenty of snow on them. As much as I hate those hills, I do feel like they are making me a stronger runner. I didn’t say they get an easier to run, but at least I know what I am in for unlike the 1st time I ran them. I have been getting faster and I can feel my endurance building. So the prize at the end of the run: (after I warmed up) another great big stack of pancakes… Hey, they say to get carbs back in your system to help fuel your muscles!