Lungs

[maestroak]

I went back through and read some of the old posts on this issue but didn't find exactly what I was looking for. I've put over 5 million meters on my erg in the past couple years and much of it at a reasonably intense pace. I generally row everything at least sub 2:00/500m. I went through a period where I dropped my SPM down to 20 and put a million or so meters on doing that over varying distances, again at that same pace. More recently I started to work intervals in to get my heart rate up more often and mix it up. Long story short, I think my cardio is really solid. I have only pulled 3 2Ks ever, initial was 7:09 a few months into this whole thing. Last year I pulled a 6:56 to go sub 7, and my last was this weekend at the Atlanta Erg Sprints where I improved considerably on my PB and got down to 6:47.7.

With that background, I'm wondering what if anything I can do about my lungs, which are by far the limiting factor. When I pulled the 7:09 way back when I was in decent shape and it hurt bad. The sub 7 really wasn't that bad, I did not push myself to the brink. This weekend, my target was 6:50 and I blew through that primarily in the last 500m. The competitive atmosphere had me push harder than I've ever pushed on my own. The result was immense suffering after the fact. In the first 1000m I noticed my mouth was really dry. Other than that, I hit some sort of rush at the right time when I would normally be focused on the current suffering and instead felt little of it during the race. That changed immediately after. My lungs screamed for a solid hour, I felt like I may never catch my breath. After that initial almost unbearable situation, I settled into essentially feeling like what I imagine was a bad case of bronchitis or something. My throat was sore, my lungs hurt, I had, and still have to some degree two days later, a cough that rivaled an old 50 year pack a day smoker.

So all that being said, is this common or something about me or the venue. Others commented that the venue was hot. A doctor I know mentioned exercised induced asthma. I guess what I'm wondering is if this is just what to expect from an all out 2K, as I really feel I left almost nothing on the table, or is it maybe an anomaly. And I guess as an aside, if I wanted to keep trying to improve or at least maintain my time without so much suffering, is there any recommendation on how to do that? Is it the case that higher stroke rate is harder on lungs and lower stroke rate harder on body? Because I really felt like I had a lot left in the tank muscle-wise, I'm not particularly sore and I really didn't even notice my muscles burning.

Thanks for any thoughts. I find it a little strange how disproportionately bad this was after the fact as opposed to even during. Maybe I just got a huge rush and transcended the pain for awhile, but it really makes me a bit gun shy of trying to go this hard again.

-Steve

[hjs]

Really diggin deep and breathing very heavy is a big burden on the lungs, even more so when the air is dry.
The very bad feeling right after the race is being overfloaded with co2, it feels like drowning and takes at least at a few minutes to get over.
You simply gave it your all, the last bit extra makes a big difference. Row 5 seconds slower and you feel a lot less bad.

[Gettingold]

Been there.....
I went too hard too soon in my first 2k race and suffered over the last 750m. I was physically sick for two days and the very thought of rowing caused my stomach to tighten for weeks afterwards. You simply took yourself to deeper waters.
Terry

[Cyclingman1]

Pulling maximum 2K's hurts -period. Everyone's experiences will be slightly different. I think the lung issues are little unusual. Immense fatigue and some breathlessness are more common. Plus muscle soreness from the extra pushing and pulling.

You need to do more 2Ks. Avoidance will create huge psychological barriers. They don't all have to be done at maximum level. Do 2K projected race pace rows of 1250-1500m.

Really, it is impressive that you can do that kind of effort. As I think you know, I too participated in the Atl Erg Sprints. I didn't exactly mail it in, but I stayed at the edge of uncomfortable. Of course, the results reflected that.

[maestroak]

Thanks for the comments, and the kind words. You saying anything I did is impressive is quite a compliment. I'm already considering whether I can make a run at 6:45 in the right conditions. I like the idea of the 1K and 1500s and will work that in. I shouldn't have said I haven't done any 2Ks, I should have said I've only done the 3 I mentioned at race pace. At one point I was messing with different interval workouts and was trying to do a 3x2K w/ 4' rest at 7:00 each. Only tried it a few times and got close, but then decided to do some more conventional intervals.

[dwalk]

The dry air in most indoor venues is horrible. Running stair races will also get your lungs feeling the same way.

[Blood And Sweat]

Hi Steve,
Sorry to read about painful lungs and coughing etc. Perhaps repeat the effort (or close to it) that caused the symptoms and hopefully they will not recur
If symptoms recur I think it would be worth looking into as its not normal for a well conditioned athlete to suffer for hours after 7minutes of exercise. Perhaps it's worth doing the proper air flow and capacity assessments to confirm no underlying asthma and go from there.
Best Wishes,
David.

[efagerho]

Whenever I do a 2K test I taste blood in my mouth and I get a minor cough that lasts until the next day. I've also noticed that as long as I stay on the rower for around 5min rowing slowly after the 2K is over I will not die a painful death. If I immediately fall down on the floor the lactic acid will cause a burn that would momentarily make me prefer that my legs would be amputated and I keep suffering for about 20 minutes.

Another thing I've noticed after having done CrossFit for a bunch of years is that there's a huge difference in how much pain different people can push them self through. This is very apparent in larger groups when doing benchmark workouts. You might just be one of these people that can push themselves through much more pain than the average Joe. Of course, the suffering is a direct consequence of that.

[Bman]

Hi Steve,
Perhaps it's worth doing the proper air flow and capacity assessments to confirm no underlying asthma and go from there.

This. I'm 36 and just got diagnosed with EIA last summer. I take 2 hits from a Symbacort inhaler 30 minutes before exercise and I'm now good to go. It took something very similar to what you described for me to make an appt with my allergy & sinus center.

[maestroak]

Well, as an update I had another 2K sprint last weekend. I was probably only 95% recovered from the prior one (about 3 weeks ago). I wasn't at all prepared for this one mentally and was kind of wondering whether I could put up a good showing without annihilating myself. I also very quickly felt that my lungs were still not 100%. I went out at right around 1:44-1:45 and cruised for the first 1400m or so. Even though there was nobody close to me (there was one guy way out in front and then me), I still couldn't resist sprinting at the end. I pulled a 7:53, 6 seconds slower than the previous. I had the familiar cough right afterward but this time (along with everyone I was talking to), the effects were probably 1/5 of what they were last time. So I guess I'm left to conclude that while I may be predisposed to something to a degree, it was mostly a combination of the really dry air in that venue and as someone said, my ability to go to push through pain to another place. I viewed that race as if I'm going to suffer I'm going to make it worth it and leave everything out there. I don't really regret it, just not sure I can bring myself to do it again. I may look into the asthma angle, but frankly, this is the only time it has ever come up.

Thanks all for the responses.

[Cyclingman1]

I pulled a 7:53, 6 seconds slower than the previous.

You mean 6:53. What venue?

I don't think racing should cause pain, per se. Yes, extreme fatigue and breathlessness, not pain. I've put myself at the bring of collapse several times and it is unpleasanat, but not painful. If there really is pain, I think there may be something physically not right.

[mikvan52]

For those wondering about dry air...

I suggest setting up a venue in moist air and seeing how that feels.. "Lung burn" happens to all of us in dry air..


REPYING TO
"I generally row everything at least sub 2:00/500m."

WHY?
National teams even row slower than that...
The 2k OTErg is 80+ % aerobic... and if you want to extend to longer competitive distances... all the more reason to do
workouts in UT2 and UT1 zones... Use Heart rate as a guide... Most competitive ergers over-train... It fits the Type-A profile...

I've seen this over and over for the last 15 years that I've been competing...

Not that High Intensity Training (alone) doesn't work... But do you enjoy that? Variety is the spice of life, .... they say...

[maestroak]

Yes, sorry I meant 6:53 and it was at the Charlotte Erg Sprints.

Interesting about the pain. Erging is by far the most intense exertion I've done in my life. As a youngster I was in great shape and played all sorts of sports and never had any issues like this doing wind sprints in soccer, etc. And I have some decent (for me) times this year at various distances without this issue. I did a 1K and 5K at a gym on two different ergs where the conditions were great. Those times, I think, are on par with my 2K in Atlanta. All that is to say, hoping it's an anomaly with the venue, or, to the extent something is wrong, it only manifests at this very extreme exertion point.

But there is no mistake, it was pure pain, not just discomfort.