Running with asthma - Advice?
Running with asthma - Advice?
Hi c/Running,
I would like some advice on how to overcome/circumvent asthma-induced pain, while running.
I'm an avid runner, but I struggle with asthma for which I do take well-adjusted medication. I have difficulty running more than a couple minutes at a time. Whenever I start running, my lungs quickly begin to hurt (it's not my sides, my muscles could do so much more, but it's actually my lungs hurting), the pain becoming so bad, that I have to pause for more than five minutes after just two, three minutes of running. It takes between 20 to 30 minutes of this stop-and-go to finally "acclimate" myself enough to be able to run normally. As you can imagine, this can get very annoying and frustrating and makes running with a group nearly impossible.
On a side-note: When I am running outside, I experience this no matter which season it is or where I am running (forest, urban, field), but when I am running on a treadmill at the gym, I usually don't experience it so severely. Maybe something with the AC?
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Do You have similar experiences and can You share what helped you?
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What can I do to reduce the time it takes me to start-up?
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What can I do to have no/less asthma-induced pain, when starting to run?
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What kind of training schedule would you recommend for people with asthma? Are normal training schedules just stretched out regarding the increases in intensity over time or do I need a completely different approach?
Thank You for any advice on the matter!
I have cold induced asthma and allergy induced asthma. I take my rescue inhaler, then walk 5-10 minutes, gradually ramping up the pace, then jog lightly for 5 minutes to acclimate, then I'm good to run. I carry my rescue inhaler with me and usually use it 1-2 times during a run. If I need it a third time it's time to stop and walk. Good luck!
Hi! I too have asthma and recently started running. I did experience some lung pain but only when I wasn't actually breathing properly or had trouble adjusting my breathing to my running pace. Are you sure your pain is asthma-induced? Have you talked to a doctor about this? Asthma normally would make your bronchi swell up and so you'd feel asphyxiated, and your muscles would give out due to the lack of oxygen. That's how it manifests when exercising. If your lungs hurt but you don't really experience any breathing difficulties, and you even feel like your muscles can continue, that doesn't sound like something asthma would cause. Sorry I don't really have any advice but as a fellow asthmatic runner, I'd look for another cause for that pain.