[Silent Running]

Hi all, apologies if this topic has already been covered elsewhere in this forum...

I am just starting out to try running regularly (partly because my partner has been running now for about six months and I've been really impressed by how much weight he's lost and how much fitter he seems).

I cycle every other day and also swim regularly, although I've had some health problems in the last few years (M.E./chronic fatigue syndrome). I have had asthma since I was a child: it's pretty well controlled (with Becotide inhaler preventative twice a day, and Ventolin inhaler when I have an attack, which is occasionally).

I tried my first 'run' today (which was basically a mixture of running alternating with walking round the block over about 12 minutes). It was a cold morning and I quickly found myself getting painful breathing - in fact it was this that was forcing me to walk rather than muscle fatigue. I finished back at home and spent the next 20 minutes or so coughing a lot. I assume that this is partly due to the cold dry air (and no doubt traffic exhaust pollution!), but is this kind of pain on breathing common for newbie runners? And does it diminish over time? If so, what kind of time period am I looking at (weeks? months?) for having this pain/coughing after running?

I would really like to be able to run regularly, so any encouragement/advice would be appreciated. At school I was often excluded from cross country runs etc on the grounds that I was an asthmatic and would not be able to keep up... So my self-confidence about running is not that good! Also, can anyone suggest a good regime for someone like myself just starting out?

Thanks in advance for all positive feedback...

 

[twinkle toes]

Hi SR Welcome to the forum firstly, and good for you with the running.

Perhaps you are setting off too quickly why not try running for a couple of mins and then walk for a couple of mins on the same route you did before and see how that goes. But start off nice and slow it is easy to blow yourself to bits by going out too fast.


If you think the above is more than manageable just try setting off slow and adapt the above to what suits you until you are running that circuit completely.

With regards to the coughing I would perhaps speak with your GP just incase, I am sure you will be fine and that there are plenty of other people who run with asthma without problems. The cold this morning would take anyones breath away :d

Hope this helps and keep us posted on how you get.

TT

 

[Trinity]

Hi

I have asthma too, only it was triggered with my running so it took a while to get it under control with the right meds.

There's a huge amount of info on the net about running with asthma, and you really need to be careful now the weather is starting to get cold.

If you haven't got one already get a 'Buff' http://www.buffwear.co.uk/ I wear mine around my neck and on particularly cold days I have it covering my mouth, at least for the first mile or two while my lungs warm up.

I would also suggest going to see your GP or your asthma nurse if you are assigned to one and talking about your current meds. Regular Becotide and occasional Ventolin wasn't enough for me. I take Becotide (brown) and Serevent (green) inhalers twice a day, which is working well.

Hope this helps

 

[hayley1977]

Hi there i think trin is right in what she says so take note.
If you learn to manage your asthma and take the correct medication, there's no reason why you shouldn't be a good runner
good luck

 

[Rob]

Hi there,
I also picked up asthma whilst out running in freezing fog (actually, I was lost, unsurpringly, given the conditions)! I never realised what it was and continued running for a couple of months and would be short of breath and gasping after about a mile - it was so bad at one point that I actually stopped running one time thinking I was about to collapse. It was my friend who heard me wheeezing and said it sounded like asthma, which my doc subsequently diagnosed. It's only mild, and only ever manifests itself when I'm running after about a mile or two. I take ventolin blue inhaler, about 3-4 puffs just before I run to open up my airways, that's what the doctor recomended, and that's enough for me and then I can run for 1-2 hours with no probs and never need to top up, although I always carry one during races just in case. again, before my races I have a few puffs and I'm fine. First time I ever used the inhaler I was amazed that it solved the problem. Always best to ask your doctor first and explain at what point the asthma kicks in to him/her.

 

[Silent Running]

Hi SR Welcome to the forum firstly, and good for you with the running.

Perhaps you are setting off too quickly why not try running for a couple of mins and then walk for a couple of mins on the same route you did before and see how that goes. But start off nice and slow it is easy to blow yourself to bits by going out too fast.


If you think the above is more than manageable just try setting off slow and adapt the above to what suits you until you are running that circuit completely.

With regards to the coughing I would perhaps speak with your GP just incase, I am sure you will be fine and that there are plenty of other people who run with asthma without problems. The cold this morning would take anyones breath away :d

Hope this helps and keep us posted on how you get.

TT

Thanks Twinkle Toes, I'll try your advice. I've downloaded a couple of "beginner's schedules" for getting started with running, so I'll see how I get on.

:embarrassed Silent Running

 

[twinkle toes]

Thanks Twinkle Toes, I'll try your advice. I've downloaded a couple of "beginner's schedules" for getting started with running, so I'll see how I get on.

:embarrassed Silent Running

Great, have you been out again?

TT

 

[Silent Running]

Great, have you been out again?

TT

Yeah, I've been going out every other day. It's already starting to feel less difficult, I'm feeling really positive about doing this. I spoke to my GP today and she was pretty supportive, too.

SR

 

[Silent Running]

Thanks for your tip about wearing a Buff, Trinity. I'll see if I can buy one at Cotswolds, I think they sell them. I've also changed my route so I'm running mostly along the canal towpath and less near a busy main road - less air pollution, seems to help.

SR

 

[Silent Running]

Hi there,
I also picked up asthma whilst out running in freezing fog (actually, I was lost, unsurpringly, given the conditions)! I never realised what it was and continued running for a couple of months and would be short of breath and gasping after about a mile - it was so bad at one point that I actually stopped running one time thinking I was about to collapse. It was my friend who heard me wheeezing and said it sounded like asthma, which my doc subsequently diagnosed. It's only mild, and only ever manifests itself when I'm running after about a mile or two. I take ventolin blue inhaler, about 3-4 puffs just before I run to open up my airways, that's what the doctor recomended, and that's enough for me and then I can run for 1-2 hours with no probs and never need to top up, although I always carry one during races just in case. again, before my races I have a few puffs and I'm fine. First time I ever used the inhaler I was amazed that it solved the problem. Always best to ask your doctor first and explain at what point the asthma kicks in to him/her.

Yep, I always have a couple blasts on my salbutamol (blue) reliever inhaler before I go out to lower the likelihood of me having an asthma attack whilst I'm running. My asthma often flares up in Oct/Nov anyway (temperature drop, damp air, fungal spores, people having bonfires etc) so I am temporarily stepping up my beclometasone (brown) inhaler preventative as advised by my GP. I discussed my starting running with her and she was supportive; basically she advised me just to do what I felt comfortable with and build up gradually from there. I'm fairly confident my asthma will settle down again, it often goes through these 'tickly' phases. I'd rather not take any more medication for it if I can avoid it, although I know it's better to have it fully controlled and to use the salbutamol as little as possible. Best thing for me would be to be able to move out of the Thames valley area, as the air quality here is pants... I'll keep buying Lottery tickets and keep my fingers crossed!

SR

 

[Silent Running]

Hi there i think trin is right in what she says so take note.
If you learn to manage your asthma and take the correct medication, there's no reason why you shouldn't be a good runner
good luck

Thanks for your good wishes, Hayley.

I grew up thinking I'd never be able to be a runner (lots of impatient sports teachers not wanting to be bothered with 'the asthmatic kid'), but I'm feeling really positive about doing this at the moment. Finding some starting out running guidelines has helped, I've realised I can just start at a level that feels OK and gradually build up from there. Wish someone had told me this years ago!

SR

 

[twinkle toes]

Really glad to hear you are getting out and things are improving, and the input you received has helped you to do this.

Keep us posted on how you continue to improve and don't worry if you have a run that didn't go well we all have those some more than often, I have some weeks where I don't feel I am running particularly well

 

[Dave]

Nice one SR.

Take your time and you will become more and more confident about your running.

As TT says,if you have a bad run don`t let it get you down,we all have them.

Luckily for me I havn`t had the problems you have,but if you get anything like the pleasure I have got out of running in the last 2 years,you`re doing ok.

All the best.

Dave.

 

[marnie]

I have asthma and take a purple preventer and blue ventolin! I find wearing a buff or scarf in cold weather and putting vaseline up the edge of your nose in warm/ summer weather helps! Never let your asthma hold you back, look at Paul Scholes and Paula Radcliffe