Hey everybody! Hope y’all are doing well! I’m pumped for the races! I’m signed up for all 3 (apparently I’m a glutton for punishment). Anyways, I just found out I have adult onset asthma. Does anyone have any tips for races and training with asthma? I’d love any advice y’all can give me. Thanks!
I don't know about whether or not the adult-onset part changes anything, but I've had moderate to severe asthma my whole life and still run and keep up with the fastest group of runners without issue (in my lungs, anyway). I bike, swim, run, and/or workout in some variation every day. That can only happen if I take my daily medication though, and so I'm very good at using my steroid puffer twice a day. (I'm on a high dose, but it works!!) Otherwise, exercise is valuable in building healthy lung capacity, and helping you recover faster from attacks, if they happen. I'm lucky that if I take my steroid inhaler, I hardly ever have to use my relief puffer - like once or twice a year! Keep exercising, and ask your doctor(s) plenty of questions.
Other considerations:
- Be careful when you're sick. Never start a run if you feel wheezy or congested in the chest. (That goes for anyone.)
- Be mindful of weather: humidity, dryness, and cold can make asthma worse in some people. A peak flow meter can help you learn what might affect you. Some runners wear a buff or scarf over their mouth and nose on cooler days to warm the air.
- Carry your rescue inhaler everywhere with you!!
- Know what your triggers are, if any: smoke, exhaustion, illness, scents, environmental allergies, pollen, etc. and avoid them as much as possible. Smoky or high pollen count outside? Time for a treadmill run!
- Ask your doctor if you need to adjust your daily medication when you know triggers will be present (like starting school, flu season, pollen season, etc.)
- You may want to get additional vaccines for pulmonary diseases and viruses, such as flu and pneumonia. Asthma makes you more prone to complications from those illnesses. Getting sick reduces training ability... nobody wants that when there's a race coming up.
- Many Olympic athletes have asthma - random trivia and inspiration for you.
Asthma should not prevent you from exercising. If it is preventing you from doing what you want, you need to speak with a doctor to get better/different medication. What works for some people doesn't work for others. Keeping asthma controlled can be challenging to start, but once it's under control, do everything to keep it that way, so you have the most freedom - but also the least side effects now and later in life.
I'm doctor, so take the above lightly, but they make good starting points to review with your doctor.