When I was in college (11 years ago!), I was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma. Essentially, this means that I don’t have normal asthma attacks, but I can be prone to them when I work out. The doctor’s solution was to give me an Albuterol inhaler and send me on my way. However, the inhaler never really helped me with my lung capacity, and the Albuterol made me jittery, so I quit using it. Now I simply focus on building my lung strength via cardio and doing slower-paced exercises that don’t strain my lungs as much. If you are a fellow asthma sufferer, here are some tips I found on Fitsugar to help:

Exercise during times of the day when your breathing is at its best. If you tend to wake up not being able to breathe, then a pre-work run may not be the best idea for you.

Don’t forget the warm-up. Going right into a 10-mile bike ride may be too much for your lungs.

Avoid exercise that makes you out of breath.

Along the same lines, avoid extreme interval training, especially if you suffer from exercise-induced asthma. While moving at different paces is OK when it comes to your breathing, you don’t want to move too fast so that you’re huffing and puffing and taxing your respiratory system. Stick to consistent speeds, or if you like varying your speeds, just do so at a pace that your lungs can keep up with.

Always keep water nearby to stay hydrated. It’s also good to sip in case you start to wheeze or feel a tickle in your throat.

Many people who suffer from asthma experience runny noses when exercising, so be sure to keep tissues on hand.

For exercise-induced asthma, my doctor recommended that I take a puff of Albuterol (rescue inhaler) before exercise to open my airways and prevent an attack. Talk to your doctor to see if they recommend that for you as well.

If cold weather triggers your asthma, exercise indoors in the Winter months. If you’re determined to exercise outside, start off slow. Run a few minutes outdoors at first, and gradually build up your time to let your lungs get used to it. Also, wearing a neck warmer, scarf, or other protective layer over your nose and mouth may prevent symptoms, since it keeps the air you’re breathing moist. Dry air tends to cause a burning feeling and can trigger an attack.

Don’t avoid exercise. If you’re worried that working out may trigger an attack, find a low-impact type of movement that’s easy on your lungs such as walking or yoga.

I have two: Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose or Cobbler’s Pose) and Viparita Karani (Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose).

My mile challenge has been put on hold due to a knee injury. I’ve had to take the past few days off, but I’m hoping to start back soon…

When my motivation to run flags, I like to watch this video. It gets me laughing and in the mood to jog.

My monthly mile challenge is going pretty well so far. Here are my times:

Monday, 10/19 – 15:50, .5% incline
Tuesday, 10/20 –  15:23, .5% incline
Wednesday, 10/21 – 14:58, .5% incline
Thursday, 10/22 – 14:16, .5% incline
Friday, 10/23 – 13:54, 0% incline

I took Saturday off because I had an intense headache all day and didn’t want to make it any worse. I’m actually considering taking weekends off for this project, because I discovered that throwing myself headlong into this challenge has made for some SORE legs! I’ve been tired all weekend, so I might just rest today and then go for it tomorrow. On days when I’ve had lots of energy, I’ve put the treadmill on a slight incline to mimic outdoor terrain — we’ll see if I can maintain that. I’m really happy about my progress, but I also worry that I’m improving too quickly and heading for a plateau. We’ll see how it goes…