Medical reports are still pending regarding the exact cause of death of former professional cyclist and ex-Davis resident Steve Larsen, who collapsed and died on a Bend, Ore., track during interval training two weeks ago. (Read the story here.)
But a former cycling competitor of Larsen's, Patrick Mannion, wonders whether it might have been exercise-induced asthma that killed Larsen. Mannion, in an email, tells his harrowing brush with near death.
"Several years back, I myself was within reach of very sudden death due to an exercised-induced asthma attack. From what I have heard regarding the circumstances of Steve's death, it sounds very much like what happened to me. I am (quite literally) very lucky to be alive. I suspect that very few who have experienced what I did actually survived to talk about it. I remember collapsing to the ground knowing I was about to die.
"After a 12 year layoff, I started bike racing again in 2000 after moving from California to New Jersey. In late May of 2000, I remember riding a training race and noticing the familliar musty, humid smell of maple pollen in the air. At one point during the race I started to suddenly cough. Figured I must have inhaled a mosquito or something. The cough got worse, and at one point I even thought to myself 'Hmm, I'm almost short of breath.' But then I recovered and just kept racing.
"Next year, same time of year, same circumstances, same kind of event, I had similar symptoms. The next year, I was actually riding home from a training race, pedalling quite slowly and taking it easy, sipping some water. Suddenly, I started coughing again. The same tree pollen smell was everywhere again. But this time, the coughing got worse, and it went even further. Within seconds, I could feel my lungs literally compressing and robbing me of more and more air. With each exhale, I could take in less air on the next intake. I stopped the bike, right next to two pedestrians with mobile phones. My last available breath was used to say 'Can't breathe, call for help,' and I fell over.
"At this point, I was convinced that I was going to die right there and then. No doubt about it. I was terrified. And I was three blocks from home. At about that point, my lungs suddenly relaxed and the cough went away, and my breathing returned to normal. A visit to my doctor then turned into a trip to the pulmonologist. The verdict: Asthma.
"I'd never had asthmatic symptoms before these three events, but apparently when you find your asthmatic trigger, you'll get attacked. I found mine. Hard strenuous areobic exercise, combined with hot, humid weather and maple tree pollen is the trigger. I was advised to carry an emergency inhaler with me. I opted to stop riding bikes in the months of May and June. That near-death experience scared the daylights out of me. I have not raced since. Not worth dying over.
