Exercise Induced Bronchospasm

Saw my doctor last night. Described what running is like for me. He asked when it started and I had to say that I've honestly only paid attention to it the past few months. Thinking back, I'm starting to see that I've most likely had this affliction all along but just assumed my struggles were because I was out of shape.

It took Christy pointing out to me that "in anything else that we do, you've got more energy, more stamina, and more strength. It makes no sense that you can't run stronger than you do."

Doc said that what I was describing was pretty classic Exercise Induced Bronchospasm. I described how I feel when running- that after a walking warm up of a few minutes, I can run about 3-4 minutes before I just feel like I have to walk. My frustration is that my body still feels strong and able but I just have to stop running and walk. Then my running intervals get shroter and shorter. And when I run an actual 5K event, I see that finish line, I sprint for it- because my body still has power left in it- and end up crossing the line and being compeltely unable to catch my breath for a few minutes. I wheeze and feel like my throat and chest are tight.

I thought I was just really out of shape and that carrying this extra weight meant I was still more unfit that I was willing to recognize.

I need to listen to myself more often, I think. I wrote recently on FitCity about beint fit while being fat but I didn't totally listen to myself.

My body is strong. My breathing was not.

I described for my doctor how it is at church some Sundays. We have "Meet and Greet" after the second song. In second service, we sing another song after Meet and Greet. Sometimes, you have to dash back up front to get to the mic before the song starts and on those instances, I have trouble singing because... I can't get my breath.

He said that's another classic sign and that he's treated singers with the condition. I have a friend at church who has a daughter who has to use an inhaler before playing her musical instrument (some breath based).

I told him that when I ran on Monday, I used my friend's inhaler and my run was a completely different and enjoyable experience. That when I had to stop to walk, it was because of a stitch in a muscle and I could recover very quickly and would be eager to get back to running. Plus, I took about 5 minutes off my time!

Do you have any idea how eager I am to get out and run with my new running gear today??