Asthma Attack!

Just after posting about healthy thoughts and smoke, I come back reporting my first asthma attack in Los Angeles. The smoke created by the multiple wildfires over Southern California turned the air quality unhealthy, causing cancellation of the Pasadena Marathon, the cycling rides of most of the cycling clubs, and even the swimming workouts at the Southern California Aquatics (SCAQ), the Masters swimming program I attend. Unaware of everything happening around me, I woke up late and arrived 15 minutes before the start of the Run for Her 5K race (this one did not get cancelled), and just after running the first mile in 6:15min I felt something was wrong.

My lungs did not follow my legs during the second mile, and soon my legs did not follow my will. Still managed to complete mile 2 in 13:50, and then my race was against my body, trying to beat my PR of 22:36 achieved last year at the same race. Finished strong, and marked 22:42, six seconds above my PR! I soon started to blame the course change this year, the weak pre-race warm-up, bad nutrition, when I noticed my burning nostrils and the cough coming frequent over my fast breathing.
It was an old familiar feeling, and everything came together when someone told me the Pasadena Marathon got cancelled due to unhealthy air quality. I had taken my usual two puffs of Albuterol before the race, but those were not enough. And of course the pump was at home. After meeting my wife, I spent about fifteen minutes controlling my respiration and considering if I should go to the medical tent. Little by little, the cough became less frequent, and all the phlegm came out, assuring the beginning of recovery.

This was the first time California has failed me, and this was painful. In New York I needed daily use of long-acting beta-agonists to treat my asthma, most likely because of allergies to tree pollen during Spring, but since I came to Los Angeles, I never needed medications again. I was happy and free. Suddenly, I could not get outside my apartment, and came across limitations to my training. This was scary and sad. All the radio reports and images on the TV were describing people losing their homes, and wildfires devastated in hours, with firefighters not able to contain most of the fire. This has shortened my breath more than any asthma attack, with no fast-relieve medicines. Imagine Saturday night I thought the Moon looked beautiful bearing a dark orange brightness.


Today, the strong smell of smoke still in the air and all the newspapers remind me the same feeling I had during the race, when it did not matter how hard I tried, I could not move my body to my will.