Before yesterday, the last two times that I ran, and the last few times I did Crossfit, I had started to experience wheezing and lightheadedness. Finishing the open in that condition was an exercise in discipline, as I couldn’t go out or I’d risk fainting. (Puking during Crossfit is a badge of honor, fainting, not so much…) I was wondering if I were getting a lung infection or maybe the pollen counts were way up since I’d been running outside.
But Sunday, I decided to start a test of eliminating soy from my diet for a week to see if I started to feel better without it. And, the early returns are, yes, I feel a heck of a lot better.
Where before, while eating two soy sausages every morning and drinking soy milk regularly, I’d started to not only experience wheezing after aerobic exercise, but also an increasing level of fatigue. My legs would feel leaden as I ran, and I couldn’t find a pace that felt good. I only forced myself to keep going so that my leg wouldn’t stiffen up painfully.
But yesterday, running felt good again. Absurdly good, considering it was 30 minutes on a treadmill. I took it slow, doing 2 miles at a 5mph pace to start. When I finished that without wheezing, I did a quarter mile at 5.5, another quarter at 6 and then finished out the 30 minutes at 7 (only 40 seconds). I walked until my heartrate fell down close to 100 and then used a foam roller on that right leg for a few minutes.
I did break my rule of doing the rowing machine for 5 minutes every time I go to the Rec Center, but I didn’t want to push my luck. Plus I didn’t have my bike, which makes the trip from Rec to office a lot longer and I wanted to have some time to eat lunch.
But I felt good. I smiled the whole time I was walking back to my office. I’m clearing up whatever infection was making my lungs act up, or I’m allergic to soy – either way, I’m happy.