Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Breathing Pains

I stopped taking my asthma medication some time ago...I still cough on the bike and the run until I am well and truly (read:1-2hours in) warmed up, but swimming is where it was really bad. Funny though...these days I have it under control (for the most part). I put in my 5k swim on Saturday...it was completed on the end of a tiring day but was pretty solid. On waking the next day I felt like I had been whacked across the back with a plank of wood. After my long swim on Monday something was amiss. Hurt to breath. Hurt to move. Hurt to drive. Basically I was rather concerned.
Tuesday morning my interval run was a no no. I was wincing with pain just getting out of bed and sitting in a chair. Doing fast intervals was not a good idea. Try the bike I thought. A little spin. 30minutes and as soon as the heart rate rose it was like being stabbed in the chest :(
Ok, now lets try and jog under the pain, I thought. Lets just say the very very short jog bought tears of frustration to my eyes. Wondering what to do...I have forgotten when I was last out of action. And I am not injured just damn sore. If I pull a calf muscle I get on with it. The chest however is more disabling than you realise.
I needed to do something. So I had an idea...now prepare yourselves because this may sound rather insane to some, but believe me I had to do it for my own sanity.
I live on the 20th floor behind TBB. I needed to work my legs. So I walked up and down the stairwell for an hour. I say walk, because I had to keep the heart rate as low as I could. Heavy breathing was way too painful. So while not too much cardio strain...boy oh boy did the legs have fun. I did 8sets in just under one hour that's 6400steps:)
This morning I gave the turbo another whirl and managed to do a 2hr15min session. Still painful but getting better I could at least stand the pain enough to breathe deeply. I will try and swim later before I fly and hopefully by the time my holiday starts I will be ready to put my new wetsuit on and go swim with the sharks...now if anything will make Emma swim faster that surely will!
Happy Holidays to one and ALL, eat, drink, train...do whatever makes you HAPPY and have FUN :)

2 comments:

Jense said...

Sounds familiar: be careful with the atypical a.k.a. walking pneumonia!

michlooi said...

Can it be Rib fracture ?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rib_fracture

Causes
Rib fractures can occur without direct trauma and have been reported after sustained coughing and in various sports – for example, rowing and golf – often in elite athletes. They can also occur as a consequence of diseases such as cancer or infections (pathological fracture).

Fragility fractures of ribs can occur due to diseased bone structure, e.g., osteoporosis and metastatic deposits.