im 43 and switched from running (20 years, 30-36 miles a week) to cycling in august of 04. when i ran, i always dreaded the cold dry seasons because it was a bit difficult to breath with the wheezing and coughing especially on harder runs. i just added it up to my lungs not liking the cold air. it didnt stop me from running as it wasnt to bad but it was uncomfortable during the runs with the sore lungs & coughing that lasted about an hour after the runs. when it got to cold outside to run i would join a gym for the winter months & the lungs felt fine no matter how hard i ran indoor on a treadmill.
switch to this december. in the last month ive mostly been in the basement on the trainer, hammering away for 1 to 1 3/4 hours at a time. no problems breathing. twice since i switched indoors ive ventured outside for a ride. the first ride (mid december) was a 20 miler in 38-40 degree weather. it started out ok but on my first serious climb i started wheezing. i figured ok, its cold out here just my normal thing. i would recover but as soon as my next hard effort came the wheezing started again. it pretty much continued coming & going the whole ride and again i just chalked it up to being normal.
switch to today. i went on a 40 mile ride today in 40-45 degree weather with a local group & a bike forum member (TJHOO). started out fine, zipping down the road, slight wheezing, then came the first hard climb. i can say this climb was the hardest climb ive ever done in my short cycling career. dont know how far or how steep it was but 1/4 of the way up the wheezing got worse. 1/2 way up it was starting to get difficult to breath. 3/4 of the way up i started to panic a bit as ive never felt the sensation of not being able to breath before. i was clawing at my helmet strap so i could undo my helmet to get my neck gator off because i felt like it was choking me (it wasnt but the mind plays tricks). i had to consciously force myself to calm down and try to breath smooth & steady but that was very difficult to do. luckily about that time i crested the top and was able to recover on the backside. during the climb my legs never felt bad like they were spent, i just couldnt breath. the rest of the ride wasnt as bad but i did do some wheezing on subsequent climbs.
all summer long i can hammer away with no problems. in my basement i can hammer away with no problems. anybody else experience this? is it time to make a doctors appointment? thanks
Last edited by bluecd; 01-01-06 at 09:59 PM.