Last Sunday I did a 68 mile ride (3 hours 50 minutes). All during the ride I felt great (tired, but great) and then I got home and had a shower, changed and had somethnig to eat, then I went to bed. While lying there I noticed I was only breathnig in a tiny amount, I'm talking a TINY bit, roughly one mouthfull of air every four or five seconds. But I was still getting enough to keep me alive (obviously). Every time I tried to breath deeply I got a weird feeling in my chest and lungs and started coughing violently. It went away after about 30 or 40 minutes.

Is this a normal thing when you push yourself? It was the longest ride I'd been on. This was the only time this happened to me.

Kind of normal, if your lungs aren't used to that type of riding. I got that when first training hard in the springtime. My brother gets it and found out he actually had mild asthma. If it persists or you see any blood or anything, I'd just go see your doctor.

Was it cold at all? This happens to be when I do anything cardiovascular in the cold.

I recall hearing something about exercise induced asthma, something to do with your bronchial tubes, cold air, and a fast respiration rate.

Don't recall where I heard this, but might be worht looking into.

I dont remember the exact temperature, but it was cold enough for me to wear two jerseys. But it wasn't anything drastically different from what I'm used to.

the cold can influence the lungs to have asthma
if you have asthma see a doctor or health professional who can treat asthma.
I don't know what the health professionals who treat asthma are, I guess a doctor, though.
yes, doctor.
see a doctor.

Jacob

happens to me all the time. it's probably exercised induced athsma, though i would have it checked out anyway. drink lots of fluids and humidify your air. there are drugs that help with the bronchospasms, but check with your doctor before you use em - they're a stimulant and don't combine well with things that affect heart function, eg. thyroid meds.

an air filter for your sleeping space might be a good investment as well.

I'll have to second (er... fifth) the asthma call. While it sounds mild, definitely talk with a doctor. I (almost) never get attacks while training unless I'm doing a long TT training ride where I'm working at peak levels for a long time. I still have an inhaler, though, just in case. Turned out to be a smart move one time: I'd been done with my workout for 30 or 40 minutes and was having mild breathing problems, but just figured I'd wait for them to go away. In the course of about one minute, they very suddenly got drastically worse, and I could barely breath at all. Imagine trying to breath through a coffee stirrer; that's how bad it was. Luckily I had my inhaler nearby; I can't imagine what would've happened if I hadn't.

Breathe, even.

not all breathing difficulties are asthma related. your body is shocked from the change in temperature. there is a mild inflammation reaction and that shortness of breath goes away after your body has warm air to breath again.

you may have experienced a broncho spasm from the temperature difference (note: not from the temperature, but from the change in temperature)

this doesn't immediately mean a causal relationship between your symptoms and an official diagnosis of asthma.