10 replies to this topic

[RaceMikeRace]

Has anyone had this experience?

Yesterday I was doing 900m repeats. I was feeling good and thought I was running at a comfortably fast pace which I couldn maintain. I was pushing it, but definitely not "all-out".

Then on the fourth rep I was suddenly struggling to catch my breath. To describe the feeling - my legs definitely had more speed left in them and my lungs weren’t burning. I wasn't trying to take in ragged gasps of air. Rather it was just like I was having (what I’d imagine to be) an asthmatic breathing experience where I couldn’t seem to draw enough air into my lungs to satisfy my need for oxygen.

I glanced at my watch and noticed my HR was creeping up into the 180s. My HR didn’t feel high though and I didn't feel shattered. In fact the only thing noticeably different was the breathing.

The same thing happened on the next two reps as well, once I got going, and I had to slow to try to be able to breath properly.

Does anyone have a theory as to why?

Normally it’s the other way round, when I've been going hard for a little while, my HR and breathing are fine but I can’t make my legs go any faster!

[Jason M]

Interesting question RaceMikeRace.

While I don't feel I can give a definitive answer on what was happening here are my thoughts:

Obviously the intensity was high, and I'll assume the intensity was somewhere near your VO2max pace (based on the fact distance was 900m repeats). At this intensity there is a fair amount of anaerobic energy production, resulting in a good release of hydrogen ions into your muscle and blood stream. Yes this often causes the burning feeling in your muscle, but even without that feeling (for a good number of reasons) the hydrogen ions stimulates ventilation. That is it causes you to breath faster. It is part of the body's way of buffering the acidity.

It does not sound like asthma. The typical presentation of asthma is the person has difficulty with expiration. It is hard to breath out, not get air in (unless very severe, well beyond what you have described). Furthermore I am assuming you do not have asthma based on how your question was worded.

Another idea is you my be fighting off some sort of virus or similar bug. This is only based on personal experience, from having trouble with high intensity work showing up as some sort of feeling of inappropriate shortness of breath about 2-3 days before some flu-like or common cold hits me.

It may be a fitness thing. Have you completed similar sessions recently? Were you running faster than usual? Or, have you had a good rest over the last week, leading to very fresh legs getting a bit ahead of your central or cardiovascular fitness?


There's a few ideas. Hope it helps and I'll be interested to know what you and others come up with too.

[tank girl]

Is this a session you've been doing a lot? I have experienced similar things, and I don't think they were related to my asthma. I put it down to inefficiency at that speed because I'm not used to training like that. But if you've been doing this session often lately, and this is a new side-effect, you may have a cold or something. And of course, if it persists, you should see a doctor.

[RaceMikeRace]

Thanks Jason and Tank Girl, interesting ideas. That's exactly what I was hoping for, a range of theories.

To answer a couple of questions, I am not asthmatic (as far as I know). Certainly the way Jason described asthmatic breathing (difficulty with expiration) is not what I felt. Also this is a similar session, in terms of time and intensity, to what I have been doing twice weekly for the last few months, so I'm fairly familar with how my body should feel running those kinds of sessions.

The cold / flu / virus thought is a good one, and only time will tell, but I do know that tough feeling a few days before succumbing to sickness and this felt very different.

Being a bit of an optimist, I am sticking with your third theory Jason! "have you had a good rest over the last week, leading to very fresh legs getting a bit ahead of your central or cardiovascular fitness?" That occurred to me as well, I had lots of sleep and very little physical activity for a few days beforehands and my pace in that session was faster than usual without me realising it. So the legs were getting ahead of the heart and lungs.

Hopefully the mystery is solved! I did the Striders 10km today and had a 25 second PB, I ran without the HR monitor and focussed on my breathing to make sure this didn't happen again. Near the end I thought I was feeling on the verge of the shortness of breath thing so just kept my mind on it and didn't push over the edge and it seemed to work.

Thanks again for the comments and theories, it's always a bit disconcerting when your body does something weird you've never experienced before!

[Jason M]

Quote

Being a bit of an optimist, I am sticking with your third theory Jason! "have you had a good rest over the last week, leading to very fresh legs getting a bit ahead of your central or cardiovascular fitness?" That occurred to me as well, I had lots of sleep and very little physical activity for a few days beforehands and my pace in that session was faster than usual without me realising it. So the legs were getting ahead of the heart and lungs.

Sounds like that is what happened. Exactly what we try to achieve with tapering before an important race.

[brizza]

asthma has a bit of a stigma attached to it whereas a bit of bronchospasm doesn't mean you are destined to a life of puffer use-how weird i this-i used to get bronchospasm from doing hard hill repeats in the cold mornings if i wore along sleeved top and shorts and didn't get it if i wore tights and a t shirt,after i noticed this i wore tights on any chilly session and went better,i used to get it at hensley track,i guessed it was due to the busy road nearby.once i got to know the triggers i never got it again-briz

[inhisshadow]

Hi Mike,

Have you tried the hippy new age Frankincense remedy I chatted to you about the other week? In my experience it has helped me with what you are/were describing. But then watching you run around yesterday you didn't look to be in too much trouble

Cheers
IHS

[RaceMikeRace]

No and I'm not sure where to get this Frankinscence from. I'm heading to the shops in a few minutes so will have a look for it. Definitely worth a try!

[Denizen]

Hi Mike,

I had a a similar experience yesterday afternoon (re:breathing). I normally run 5.5 km on a sort of bush track, then stop for 8 minutes , have a drink of water, then run back. I went out a bit slower yesterday, as I intended to stop for only a few minutes.

On the way out at approx 4.5 km, my breathing started to feel uncomfortable (quite suddenly) - it didn't feel normal- not gasping but as if my body was demanding too much oxygen for the work rate. I stopped for 2 minutes, recovering quickly then continued. I stopped at the 5.5 turnaround for a further 2 minutes, for a drink. On the way back I felt good and ran a extra 1 km finishing strongly- so I wasn't tried and apart from the breathing episode, I felt good.

The humidity felt unusually high yesterday for Darwin's dry season and it is possible that there was smoke in the air- I don't know if this would affect breathing.

[inhisshadow]

RaceMikeRace, on Jun 8 2008, 12:56 PM, said:

No and I'm not sure where to get this Frankinscence from. I'm heading to the shops in a few minutes so will have a look for it. Definitely worth a try!

Let me know how you go - I have an over abundance of the stuff so can throw a bottle ypur way if you want

Cheers
IHS

[brizza]

two main groups of triggers-suspended particulate matter ie smoke,cigarette smoke,car fumes anything where the particles are small enough to get through the filters-nose,upper airways-this includes particles floating in microdroplets which is anything dissolved in the humidity you are breathing on a cold misty morning for example;allergens,anything you are allergic to will sensitise your airways and make you react with bronchospasm