Loss of breath at start of workouts
For several years I have had a condition where for the 1st 15-20 minutes of activity I get very short of breath and find it hard to breathe. Never really thought much about it as until the last 1 1/2 years when I joined the triathlon realm my backgound has been primarily cycling and I have just worked through it and after the first 5-10 miles it just clears up and goes away. Manifests itself as a general tightness through the chest and I just suck air like I was running sprints. My challenge this year has been that as I moved up in distance on the swim it kicks in right in the middle of the swim leg and being a "challenged" swimmer already it just really kills me physically and mentally, the low point being when I bailed on the swim in Boulder. Looking to see if anyone has experienced anything similar and how they treated it. No known allergies or breathing issues and I had a stress test 2 years ago (the cardiologist really loves it when an endurance athlete shows up for that) and they didn't find anything at that point, it has existed both before and after this. I have considered an extended warm up but since I am planning on full ironman next year I don't really think I need to add a 8 mile warm up ride on the front side! Really believe that if I address with the Dr he will address either with $5k in tests that show up negative or he'll prescribe an inhaler without really knowing why either way I don't believe that I'll get to the root cause.
Comments
I generally encounter a similar issue at the start of every season, though I should note I only experience it when I run. But I've found that slowing down my pace significantly (i.e. almost walk-running) and focusing on my form has helped a great deal. Docs aren't really sure what it is, I've done the exercise PFT and had normal results. The slow pacing and refocusing have worked well in controlling it, and after a few runs it seems to stop. But I would say if slowing down and refocusing doesn't do much you should definitely consider the exercise PFT.
I have the same problem. It takes about 500m swimming or 1-2 mi running for me to 'get comfortable'. Before that happens I feel like I'm breathing harder than an off-the-couch 2-3 pack a day smoker.... I'm not swimming/running any slower, it just feels terrible. I just rough it out knowing that in few minutes I'll be feeling better and running comfortably.
FYI: IMHO, for the Ironman, the swim is your warm up. You can go nice an slow for a long as you need to. I think the phrase that pays is "swim in your box"? By the time you finish that 2.4mi warm up, you will hopefully be golden for a quick run into T1.