Southern California - problems breathing?

After today's 55 mile ride to the SDSR (in the Inland Empire), only shallow breathing would keep me from going into a cough-a-thon. I thought I was gonna hack up a lung. After my Saturday, Newport Beach ride I felt great.
Anyone experience a smog cough today after thier ride? If it was the smog, this summer is gonna suck! I'm moving towards the beach.

Being asthmatic, I get that all the time. Usually if I over exert or if it's hot/cold outside (as well as foggy, dry, windy), I can have wheezing even after taking Foradil in the morning. If you've never been diagnosed as asthmatic, perhaps you inhaled too much of the bad air, but if it happens again, I'd suggest the next time you're at your doctor to ask about exercise induced asthma. It's not major, but it's very common among cyclists and runners - especially in metropolitan areas like LA.

Being asthmatic, I get that all the time. Usually if I over exert or if it's hot/cold outside (as well as foggy, dry, windy), I can have wheezing even after taking Foradil in the morning. If you've never been diagnosed as asthmatic, perhaps you inhaled too much of the bad air, but if it happens again, I'd suggest the next time you're at your doctor to ask about exercise induced asthma. It's not major, but it's very common among cyclists and runners - especially in metropolitan areas like LA.

Hey M.E.! I have never been diagnosed as asthmatic, but your freaking me out about the excercise induced asthma. thanks for the info. I'll google it and see what I can do about it.:)

Being asthmatic, I get that all the time. Usually if I over exert or if it's hot/cold outside (as well as foggy, dry, windy), I can have wheezing even after taking Foradil in the morning. If you've never been diagnosed as asthmatic, perhaps you inhaled too much of the bad air, but if it happens again, I'd suggest the next time you're at your doctor to ask about exercise induced asthma. It's not major, but it's very common among cyclists and runners - especially in metropolitan areas like LA.
Yep. That's how I knew I did my best in the national championship pursuit way back when. And after 10 solid minutes of coughing and hacking, my teammate asked me "so do you think you could have gone harder?"

I forgot to mention that after riding hard, when I breathe in through my nose, I can smell a strong scent of ammonia. Is that wierd or what?

I checked the AQMD (http://www.aqmd.gov/telemweb/Reading.html), and smog levels weren't too bad today-- I get a bad hack when it's smoggy, too.

Could be EIA-- it is pretty common and exacerbated by the cold. It's probably also hard to get diagnosed because doctors will be afraid to push you hard enough to trigger it-- a lot of them aren't used to healthy people.

I've got a couple of granuloma's in the left lung. On bad days, it feels like I'm getting an icepick in the chest. really sharp isolated pain.

I forgot to mention that after riding hard, when I breathe in through my nose, I can xmell a strong scent of ammonia. Is that wierd or what?

All sweat gland secretions are basically the same components as urine. Some people would describe urine odor as somewhat like ammonia. There are creams and sprays available or you could have used the showers at the beach to rinse off before heading home...lol.

actually right now there are alot of allergens in the air; between left over smoke, from fire, there are lots of pollens floating around making it hard for anyone with hay fever (like me!) to breathe. Try taking a Benadryl before your ride. The air even with the fire/smoke residue is fairly clean right now so it's not smog.

All sweat gland secretions are basically the same components as urine. Some people would describe urine odor as somewhat like ammonia. There are creams and sprays available or you could have used the showers at the beach to rinse off before heading home...lol.

I mat have given the impression that my body smelled like ammonia... I can only smell the ammonia when I breathe in deeply through my nose. It is not coming from my body. I can smell it after I shower too. I was thinking that the inside of my nose could be filled with pollutants from car exhaust etc... hhhmmm- not sure though?

actually right now there are alot of allergens in the air; between left over smoke, from fire, there are lots of pollens floating around making it hard for anyone with hay fever (like me!) to breathe. Try taking a Benadryl before your ride. The air even with the fire/smoke residue is fairly clean right now so it's not smog.

thanks Pam. BTW... the route you gave me was perfect. It had a nice balance of trails and open road. I was never board. It took me about 1.5 hrs to get back to the hotel. :D

After today's 55 mile ride to the SDSR (in the Inland Empire), only shallow breathing would keep me from going into a cough-a-thon. I thought I was gonna hack up a lung. After my Saturday, Newport Beach ride I felt great.
Anyone experience a smog cough today after thier ride? If it was the smog, this summer is gonna suck! I'm moving towards the beach.

My allergies have been killing me lately; everything's starting to bloom around here. For me it manifests in severe sinus pressure. Perhaps try taking some anti-histamines and see if that helps. Of course, consult a physician as well.

What is SDSR?
[edit]: I just saw a thread about it. Oops.

got in from a 55 mile ride and i smelled ammonia too!!! I can still smell it, my skin doesn't smell like it it's just in my nostrils. any ideas-- do we have any doctors here who might be able to explain this?? SoCalCyclist-- did you find out anything about this phenomenon??

I was just reading an interesting article here:
http://www.ultracycling.com/nutrition/fueling_for_endurance.html

The article states:


Consuming Too Much Protein During Exercise.
During endurance exercise, approximately 8-15% of the calories required should come from protein, with the remaining 85% from complex carbohydrates. Many Meal Replacement Drinks (MRPs) that are used as endurance fuels during exercise contain too much protein with very little carbohydrates. The human body, while able to handle 20-30 grams of protein in one intake, cannot tolerate that on an hourly basis. Too much protein fills the blood with too many amino acids. These excess amino acids are converted into carbon dioxide, water, and ammonia. This ammonia is toxic to the body and is a primary cause of premature fatigue. While the body is equipped to handle excess ammonia by converting it to urea then filtering it through the kidneys, too much puts a burden on the kidneys.

Not Consuming Any Protein During Exercise.
The primary source of muscle energy production is adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Each muscle stores its own supply of glycogen, which is a long-chain carbohydrate having a chemical structure similar to the carbohydrates found in a common potato. When we exercise the body can more easily break down muscle glycogen into ATP than convert either fat or the limited amounts of protein donated from lean muscle mass.

However, after 90 minutes, and becoming more important the longer a workout or race is, the body will begin to utilize protein for fuel as glycogen reserves are reduced. This metabolic process, called gluconeogenesis, allows for the synthesis of glucose from protein (along with the glycerol part of the fat molecule). The body will cannibalize protein from muscle tissue if adequate amounts of protein are not ingested. This process not only deteriorates lean muscle tissue but hampers fat burning capabilities and speeds up the production of ammonia.

To prevent this from happening the endurance athlete should make sure carbohydrate intake is consistent and that some protein is consumed during endurance exercise. In addition, it is believed that soy protein is the preferred choice during exercise as it has less chance of producing ammonia than whey protein.


I don't know very much about this topic, but it struck me that possibly the ammonia smell that a couple of you have mentioned could be related to this? Perhaps someone else more familiar with principles of nutrition can say more, but I'm thinking it's worth looking into.

got in from a 55 mile ride and i smelled ammonia too!!! I can still smell it, my skin doesn't smell like it it's just in my nostrils. any ideas-- do we have any doctors here who might be able to explain this?? SoCalCyclist-- did you find out anything about this phenomenon??

The article above is consistent with others I've read. I spoke to a Doctor who told me much of the same. I added some protein to my fuel and I did not experience the ammonia effect-yet..