My Asthma, My Self

Today I finally broke down and saw my doctor to talk about the breathing issues I've been having while on my longer runs.

The first time it happened, a few weeks ago, I thought it was just my body not being used to running long distances. Then it kept happening, along with chronic coughing that would persist for days afterward. It was scary, and frustrating. Instead of getting better at cardio endurance, the more I ran, the worse my condition got. I felt at war with my body, like I set this amazing athletic goal for myself, and my body is crapping out on me before we are even out of the gates. It seemed like some kind of terrible proof that I wasn't equal to the task. After 4 miles my lungs were rejecting air like I was allergic to it. I couldn't complete my longer 6 miles runs anymore, I felt like a failure.

My doctor believes I have excercise-induced asthma. I'm going to get a chest x-ray on Friday and see a pulmonologist on Monday to make sure there's nothing more going on, but we are pretty sure that once I get my hands on an inhaler, my training can get back on track. I feel better now, knowing that the problem is manageable, even though, mentally, for me, it will take some getting used to being dependent on an inhaler. I know I'm not the most afflicted person in the world - a friend of mine is allergic to her own sweat and has to take a Benadryll before each run!