Breathing Pains

Last week I had a challenging cycling class.  About halfway through the class I got a stabbing pain in my side.  I tried to ignore it but it just kept getting worse.  Eventually I had to stop doing the drills and just force myself to keep pedaling.  It wasn't until a few hours later that the pain subsided.

I was so disappointed that I had to stop the drills that I was determined to figure out what happened.  Granted I hadn't drank enough water during the day, but there had to be something else going on...right? 

Well I googled and googled.  There were countless articles on cramps, but most of them had to do with cramps during running.  It couldn't be the same for cycling...or could it?

Finally after reading a couple articles that sounded exactly like what I was dealing with...I decided that the cause of my cramps was shallow breathing (gotta love self-diagnosis).  I know I've had issues with breathing during my swimming...now my cycling too?  Ugh.  I thought I knew how to breathe!

So this week's class was focused on me breathing properly.  And guess what - I rocked it!  I was surprised at how easily I did the entire workout.  Everyone else seemed to be really struggling but I felt very strong.  YAY ME! 

So my theme for the triathlon training is just to BREATHE!