I've had Asthma since I was a kid. My brother had it worse than I did, with lots of late night trips to the ER when he was very little. It was so bad, our parents had to take away our stuffed animals.

Anyway, I've been on daily asthma meds since I was about 11 or 12. I stopped taking them my senior year of college, as I was considering joining the Marines - not sure what I was thinking - and they don't take asthmatics. I seemed to do all right without them, but then again, I wasn't exercising, other than 12-ounce curls. Shortly after ceasing my medicine, I did suffer from a non-exercise induced asthma attack. It was during spring break my senior year. I fortunately still had a rescue inhaler and some Primatine tablets in my bag and was able to deal with it.

I got back on the daily asthma meds a few years later when I started riding again and continually found myself struggling to breath. My pulmonary function numbers were ridiculously low. While my asthma is constant, it is exacerbated by exercise, which is why I keep my rescue inhaler in my cycling bag. I also see my allergist annually.

Lately, I've been a bit more short of breath in general, even just sitting at my desk. So, maybe it's getting worse. Regardless, I stick with my daily meds, and I use my rescue inhaler as needed. I'll also usually take a preventive puff before races.

When the weather turns cold, my breathing gets worse - which also could be a reason why I am struggling a bit more lately to breath. On cold weather rides, I bring my rescue inhaler with me and sometimes need it. I also have switched to V-neck base layers as anything constricting my neck makes me feel like I am choking when I start struggling to breath.

And I also have major allergy issues. In the past five years, I've had a sinus x-ray and CT scan as the allergists couldn't figure out why my sinuses are always so congested and inflamed. I have a prescription for Zyrtec-D, which is an over the counter drug, but I need more than I am legally allowed to buy over the counter, though I am pretty sure I take less than is required for a TUE. I also carry Advil Cold and Sinus in my pocket all the time. And I do daily sinus rinses. Depending on the need, I'll do as many as four a day. Since starting that, I"ve dropped from 4-6 sinus infections a year to 1-2. And they are much shorter.

Keeping the house clean helps keep the asthma and allergies in check. We have carpet and have to vaccuum it 1-2 times a day. The dog drops a lot of hair and dander. Technically I am allergic to dogs, but after living with one for six years, I have built up a decent tolerance to him. Still, if he slobbers on my while playing or scratches at me, I do get welts and hives.

Cats are another story. I can walk into a house that has a cat and know it in 15 seconds. I then leave that house. Intense allergens like cats will trigger my asthma and have me wheezing pretty quickly.

Despite all this, I have been able to race and race fairly successfully. I do turn to my rescue inhaler as well as nasal steroids - like Afrin - to help me breath. And I do have to pick and chose my races based on the weather. I don't bother with really cold races any more as it just rips my lungs apart and has me weezing and coughing like a smoker for a week.