asthma athlete
#last Oslo Diary
I’v been away too long and I’m so sorry! It has been very busy and really busy and it were challenging times for me. I thought about my running plans a lot. As you know, I’ve been injured for a couple of weeks. Since three weeks I’m allowed to go at it again, not at full throttle, but as much as I can without pain. In those three weeks I’ve went for a small jog only three times. I completely lost my runners mojo. All of a sudden I’m so done with it! I’m not enjoying it anymore, I’m not looking forward to go for a run. Just lost all joy of running.
Why? I don’t know. This year I was at my fastest and strongest running form and after a couple of weeks it was just all gone. Of course you can recover and start all over again, but somehow I just don’t want to do that again. It took me forever to get to that level and for asthmatic people like me it’s even harder to bounce back.
So I decided just to let it go for now, even though it’s not easy. Now I will focus on CrossFit, because I still love to do that. And maybe one day I will recover my runners mojo, but for now CrossFit it is. I canceled my travel plan to Stockholm. I won’t be running my first marathon this year. And it’s totally fine. Watching the Crossfit Games this weekend inspired me to try my hardest and be the best CrossFit athlete I can be. Maybe next I will run a marathon, maybe not. We’ll see!
Back up – #13 Oslo Diary
I jinxed it! Bragging about how awesome and fast I got with my running. Bam! The next day sore throat and a cold and 10 days a lot of stress and studying. I missed 2 runs in 10 day and running felt heave and not awesome anymore. Worst thing is, I failed that stupid test too. Took a week off from work to study and now it seems a waste of my vacation day. I’m definetely not gonna do that again. I have to be honest, I’ve been in a bad mood for 2 days for not passing that exam. Studied really hard, but maybe not good enough.
Yesterday I did my first heavy run again. It was just a bit slower than my fastest run two weeks ago. So the damage wasn’t that big. Well I guess this is how it goes. With ups and downs. Not just with running, but with everything. And I think we have to remember that taking a step back isn’t the end of the world. And in sometimes you’re becoming even better & stronger after taking a step back.
Ps. Yesterday I took a pictury of my sister’s puppy. I know it has got nothing to do with my writing, but I just love puppies!
So far – #9 Oslo Diary
It has been a crazy busy week. Saturday I had this huge exam for my college. I have almost been studying 24/7. I didn’t do as much running and Crossfitting as I supposed to. But I did pass the test with 7 (B-?)! And that was my priority this week. Well, I did study for this subject a lot for the past 2 months. It’s not always easy to study for a degree next to your fulltime job. But it’s not impossible either.
To be honest my last 4 weeks of preparation sucked. Study, cold issues, my winter runners painful itch suddenly popped up again, work… Just life you know.
I started this post a week ago and I will finish it today. I am sorry this one took me so long. But… My running is going great since last week! Yay! Crossfitting not that great yet, my back is giving me a hard time. But that will turn okay too in the end. I will practice some gymnastics tonight and some light weightlifting.
So, okay running is okay again, Crossfitting not yet, but it will in a few weeks. I actually didn’t expect this prep would be with so many hurdles. The only thing that changed, I suddenly had a goal. My training schedule didn’t change that much. Did I unconsiously sabotage the overwhelming idea of training for a marathon? I don’t know, but from now on it will get better and better!
Out of breath – #3 Oslo Diary
Since 10 years I have a nice case of asthma. No, it’s not life threatening. And no, it doesn’t mean you can’t do anything physical. Au contraire, there are a lot of good athletes who suffer from asthma, like the awesome marathon elite runner Paula Radcliffe. She did overcome asthma..
Although I use two kinds of asthma meds it still holds me back in my sports. Not that I will ever be an elite athlete ( running or CrossFit), but I know I could do much better without asthma. With my running ( with interval and tempo runs) my lungs are burning and I can’t get enough air, but my legs still have so much strength. And I just want to use that strength so bad!
I’m a slow runner, like really slow. My speed is about 11 tot 12 minutes a mile. To be honest, I really hate being slow. I really don’t like it, but I still haven’t found a way to get faster. Sometimes on an interval training I really dig deep. Afterwards I have a taste of blood in my mouth and my lungs will hurt the rest of the day. I don’t know if that’s a good thing, but it’s a asthma thing. Other asthma runners can relate. Right?
But besides all the limitations that asthma can cause, it helped me also with a couple of things. I tought me to never give up. To not compare myself with others, only myself. I tought me I still could do what I want to do even with asthma.
In 2013 and 2014 I ran the 13.1 miles! Not fast, but I did it! It was really hard and I doubted myself a lot, but I did it. Even twice! A lot of people with healthy lungs just don’t do that. And this year I will run the magic 26.2 miles in Oslo! Not sure if I make it, but I will give it a 200% to make it happen. Even if I have to crawl over the finish line.
January 2014 I started doing CrossFit. My lungs don’t like CrossFit. The mix of sprints with explosive weight exercises kill my lungs every single time. But since I started I have become so much stronger! I didn’t get really faster, but that will happen some day. I like to keep challenging myself and get better bit by bit.
So what I’m trying to say, you can do a lot with asthma. You just have to do it an keep doing it. You might not be the best or the fastes, but you will be at your best and your fastest. Yes, you will be out of breath and it will hurt sometimes, but it won’t kill you.
I was wondering if other runners or CrossFitters or workout enthusiasts can help me. Do you have tips or exercises to make you less out of breath? I would love to read your comments. If you know someone who has asthma, who works out a lot, please ask them. I’m just curious how you all deal with asthma. Did you reach goals, you didn’t think you could ever reach?
XO Natalia
