I would like to hear from the girls who race and/or really hammer when they ride. How does your lungs / chest handle it? Early on in my riding "career", I discovered I have exercise-induced asthma so I got an albuterol inhaler and that seemed to do the trick. Most of the time. I still seem to have trouble when the weather is cool and damp (which is very rare around here) - I cough a lot, clear my throat, phlegm buildup in the throat, lungs etc. It's annoying but doesn't stop me from riding. Most of the time, I am fine.

However, I do notice that when I ride really really hard, I get worse and worse regardless of the weather. On my last two really hard rides, my chest hurt so bad after I stopped that I thought I was having a heart attack. It settled down after a bit and was just a little sore later. As I was riding, and breathing really hard, my throat got really "phlegmy" and I had to keep clearing and coughing. It really distracts and irritates me when I'm riding. When I was finished the ride, I started coughing and was hacking and coughing for about an hour afterward.

Is this "normal" for working really hard? Or do I need to get the next level of medication that my doctor mentioned was available? My hubby and another cycling friend both say they get kind of like that when they ride really hard and that it's just because I am working so hard. If that's the case, I'll guess I'll just live with it. Or get into better shape...

Your thoughts?