TaraSchiroFiled under: Asthma | Tags: Asthma, asthma improved with exercise, can i run with asthma, EIA, exercise asthma, exercise-induced asthma, half marathon with asthma, marathon training with asthma, marathon with asthma, run with asthma, running, running with asthma
One of the most popular questions that lands people on this blog is “Can I run…a 1/2 marathon, cross country, a ten minute mile…a 5K… with asthma?” The short answer is yes. One of the most frequent questions I am personally asked is, “How…do I breathe while running with asthma, how can I run a faster mile, how can I keep up with my cross country team, how do I train for a 1/2 marathon or 5K? The short answer is be consistent all year long.
The longer answer is this: The lungs are a muscle. The more you use them, the stronger they get. But, one sentence is not very helpful for such an ambiguous disease. There are a lot of hills to overcome, many rainstorms to get through, humidity to sweat through, and freezing temperatures to play mind games with: do I stay inside my cozy house and watch a movie or go out and freeze while I break a sweat?
The correct answer is this: We first need to build a base of consistency. I suspect that many of us, myself included, want to do better without first laying the foundation. If you have asthma, laying your running foundation takes twice as long and twice as much discipline as our non-asthma-running counterparts because we need to rest more.
I remember vividly it taking two or three days for me to recuperate from a two mile run. Once my lungs were inflamed from a run, any type of movement–laundry, straightening the house, running errands–would be understood by my lungs as exercise. I had to stop moving and rest. That was when I was on four asthma medications per day. I am now med-free and training for my fourth ½ marathon scheduled for November, 2011. It took me a couple of years to build my base because I had to rest A LOT. In hindsight I should have taken shorter walks or runs but my ego got in the way. Self-imposed chaos!
We who have EIA have the added benefit of thinking we’re going to pass out and die right in the middle of the trail. When I first started running with asthma, as soon as I felt my quads or lungs (weak muscles), the mind trip began. I have to stop, I can’t do this, I can’t breathe, I’m in pain, and on and on. I had to train myself where my boundary line was. I had to remind myself that I’ve climbed that hill before and nothing happened. I didn’t pass out, I didn’t die. I’m fine.
Regular, consistent running, all year long, will provide what is called a “base.” This is your foundation to stand on. Maybe you can only walk for one mile. Maybe you can run for two miles. Regardless of where your starting point is, increase your overall exercise time by 10% per week. This prevents injury and safely gets you to your next goal. Work your way up to running, or walking, three or four times per week. A base, or foundation, takes several months of consistent workouts to put in place. Once it’s there, you can stand tall to reach your next goal: the 5K race, the ½ marathon, a new personal record in track or cross country, a ten-minute mile.
Remember, it’s not just the lungs that need consistent workouts, it’s also the mind. We need to train our brains, through consistency, that we can do this. We can run with asthma without it running us.
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I am very impressed by your patience and guts. I am a competitive runner in my 60′s who ran in the 16 minute range in 5k races in my 30′s. Being a basketball player and not knowing what I was doing I had my ass handed to me in races but I eventually bullied my way to some good local times and successes in my age group. To the point, I never learned how to compete at the next level. Recently I decided to learn how to compete at a national level after being hurt off and on for two years…. You are 100% correct about being patient, resting and creating a strong base… You need strength to compete and wisdom to succeed. Running with asthma is much like running after 60….. It takes guts, patience and a belief that it can be done… Great job!
Comment by Pete December 27, 2011 @ 9:16 pmPete
Hi Pete! Wow, your words are like gold nuggets of encouragement! Thank you so much for sharing, especially your age. There are readers here that are under the impression that we are headed down hill after 40, and they seem to be settling because “we can’t do what we used to.” You are proving this isn’t so!! Keep up the good work and keep us posted! Thank you, Tara
Comment by TaraSchiro January 11, 2012 @ 3:04 pmJust curious how you’ve managed to go med free. I’ve run for years and find I need stronger ones. Are you doing Buteyko or similar breathing exercises?
Comment by Kim Ribbink December 1, 2011 @ 12:04 amHi Kim! Thanks so much for sharing! If you want the full story of how I went med free, it’s all here on the blog. You will have to read through the various posts. The short answer is this: consistent weekly workouts to develop a strong base, clearing out mental baggage that was holding me back in all areas in life (and it was showing up in my running…”I can’t”…), lots of prayer, and, as I got stronger mentally and physically, I just slowly weened off all the meds. The thing about medication is that the more you take, the more you need. This is just my opinion, I’m not a doctor, but medication can make us dependent on medication. In my case, I found that once I got my lungs to a point that they were strong enough to handle a 1/2 marathon, that is when I started the process of decreasing the meds. And then I discovered that the meds were actually making my asthma worse, keeping me symptomatic. I needed to decide whether to add more medication or go off of it completely. The meds do not strengthen your lungs like regular exercise. So when the meds get to their threshold of being effective (and again this is all just my opinion, I’m not medically trained), then the lungs will require something stronger or different. And this is when the doctor will want to up the meds or try something different. This is why regular, consistent exercise is soo crucial. Exercise adds strength, builds muscle, cleans the toxins out of the body, gets things lubricated, fuels the brain, etc etc. Medication cannot do that. Granted, sometimes we need it; I’m not anti-med. if you have to take it, take it. But in my case, the benefit that the meds once gave me had worn off and I saw the positive effect the long distance running was having on me both physically and mentally and so I decided to try to ween myself off the meds. I was scared, lots of mind games, I went slow, but once I was off I had the benefit of hindsight and that is when I clearly saw that the meds had ran their course and were holding me back. Building muscle, endurance, tenacity, mental clarity, we’re all keys to taking this step. We can get stronger with age, not weaker. Don’t fool yourself. Keep us posted on your progress! Thanks for sharing, Tara
Comment by TaraSchiro January 11, 2012 @ 3:54 pmhey just curious of how i could start planning on joining the US Army i need a plan..I haven pretty sever asthma at times and other times its not to bad. But it only happens during exercize. There wsa a point in my life when it actually disapeared for a while. Just wondering what steps i could take as i gradually work into running wiht asthma…I.E like when should i use inhaler…when should i stop using it..how many miles. I really like to get this going and ive noticed a lot of people doing it on this site. I am also an athlete and played soccer in college just want to beat please let me know
Comment by Kyle August 25, 2011 @ 6:50 pmHi Kyle, Thanks for stopping by! I can’t give you advice on when or when not to use an inhaler; I’m not a Dr. Body awareness is an absolute must for runners with EIA who want to improve or try out for something, so the inhaler thing is something you will have to experiment with on your own. As far as “beating” the asthma, I would suggest reading through my blog starting with the first post in 2008 and moving forward to see the progression as I tried to figure this out. I am somewhat in “remission” right now but I believe this is because my lungs and mind are much stronger than they used to be. It is possible to be a great runner with EIA. The key is learning how to navigate and having complete body awareness, as well as learning where all the boundary lines are. Keep reading!
Comment by TaraSchiro September 1, 2011 @ 3:04 pm