I was 50 yards into the Bulldog 50K trail run, a brutal race in the Santa Monica mountains that consists of two 15-mile loops, and I was Rolex Datejusts replica watches completely out of breath. The conversation in my head looked something like this: “Ok, what is going on here you wimp? You are running downhill so you should not struggling already! Breathe, breathe, breathe….” How could I finish the 31 miles if I couldn’t complete the first mile? I had a tight feeling in my chest. I ran/walked the first two miles, feeling very frustrated that my lungs were not cooperating. At mile three I spotted my super-tall friend Eric, a registered nurse.
He suggested that I stop running because I might have asthma. He stuck by my side as we power-walked up buttock-sculpting climb that Rolex Sports Models replica watches rises about 2000 feet in four miles. When we reached the top, I decided to run the steep downhill section. When the ground leveled out at the bottom of the mountain, I tried to keep running but couldn’t. I stopped at the aid station at mile 12 frustrated and hyperventilating. Volunteer at aid station: “Are you ok?”Me: “Uh I can’t breathe very well.”“What is your racing background?” “Well I’ve done three Ironmans, two half Ironmans, five marathons, a 50K, lots of 100 mile+ bike rides including three double century bike rides, Mt. Baldy Run to the Top…” “Well, this is a hard race. You are sweating a lot. You must be dehydrated.”“ I always sweat like this. Just looking at a wool sweater or thinking about Las Vegas heat in the summertime causes me perspire. There is something wrong with me.”The volunteer had me sit in a chair to calm down as I contemplated pulling out of the race. Dropping out of a race would be a first for me.
I had done the Auburn half Ironman in 103 degree heat, and the Silverman full iron-distance race in wind and rain. I shivered in a ditch with a friend for forty-five minutes to keep warm during a freezing-rain plagued double-century bike ride—we replica A Lange & Sohne watch finished. However, my gut told me not to finish this 50K. I dropped out of the race.The DiagnosisThree days later I visited my doctor to see if I had asthma. His diagnosis was not asthma, but pleuritis, inflammation of the lining of the lungs. He prescribed an anti-inflammatory and told me to take it easy. Two days later my best friend insisted on taking me to the emergency room when I developed new symptoms: chest and back pain. In the ER, a CT scan of my lungs revealed—to my surprise and horror—bilateral pulmonary embolism. I had multiple blood clots in both lungs. Huh? A 31 year old, active, non-smoker?
