Hi c/Running,

I would like some advice on how to overcome/circumvent asthma-induced pain, while running.

I’m an avid runner, but I struggle with asthma for which I do take well-adjusted medication. I have difficulty running more than a couple minutes at a time. Whenever I start running, my lungs quickly begin to hurt (it’s not my sides, my muscles could do so much more, but it’s actually my lungs hurting), the pain becoming so bad, that I have to pause for more than five minutes after just two, three minutes of running. It takes between 20 to 30 minutes of this stop-and-go to finally “acclimate” myself enough to be able to run normally. As you can imagine, this can get very annoying and frustrating and makes running with a group nearly impossible.

On a side-note: When I am running outside, I experience this no matter which season it is or where I am running (forest, urban, field), but when I am running on a treadmill at the gym, I usually don’t experience it so severely. Maybe something with the AC?

1. Do You have similar experiences and can You share what helped you?

2. What can I do to reduce the time it takes me to start-up?

3. What can I do to have no/less asthma-induced pain, when starting to run?

4. What kind of training schedule would you recommend for people with asthma? Are normal training schedules just stretched out regarding the increases in intensity over time or do I need a completely different approach?

Thank You for any advice on the matter!