hearthurts wrote:
do you think cardio will help my recovery? Might try running 1mile everyday

I used to be a good distance runner in high school. When I was 16-years-old breaking a 5 minute mile was nothing to me. No joke. I could do so with ease. My 800 (just short of half a mile) was relatively close to 2 flat. I got the distance "coach's award" plaque in high school for outstanding athletic achievement and leadership. Have it in my room somewhere. (Double that and you'd have a ~4 minute flat mile; of course, it is half the distance, so it's not like I could have sustained that pace; maybe with more training I could have but my joints sucked and so I stopped.) And I additionally relayed my school's 4x400 when the other sprint coach needed someone fast to stand in for someone. My times are out there somewhere, preserved in certifiable high school race data. One last fun fact that really adds insult to this empty nose injury is that... the allergist (lung doctor?) who referred me to his friend and surgeon who damaged my nose, measured my lung capacity when I was 16, and it was off the charts. Statistically well outside of the three standard deviations from the mean. My aerobic capabilities were off the charts. I had like, double the lung capacity of the average person my age, I recount. That data is out there somewhere too. In medical records.

Some tips: I've been running recently (much, much, much slower, steadier, and shorter than in those golden years) and OMFG yes it seems to help my ENS induced asthma. My lungs feel like they are getting stronger. 

-Expect a bigger recovery because of empty nose. The first time I ran a lap in over a year (what was it? a week ago?) my recovery took like 2 hours. I was winded and sick and everything. I could barely move afterward. Some of that was from being slightly out of shape and some of that was from remaining ENS. 

Update: When empty nose was bad for me, it was like my inhaling would just stop at about 20%. I went through that starting in the fall of 2014 all the way until I saw Das in the summer of 2015. It was like shallow breathing, all the time. Still can't believe another person did this to me. When I ran recently I only felt my empty nose at the bottom of my breath, rather than the top of it. So I could breathe in at about 75-80% of my maximum, which is more than enough to run and sustain a sprint.

-Warm-up: do not just go out and run. Walk a lap first. Better yet, if you can, two. Then stretch a little. Ask me about or look up stretches on youtube or the internet. These stretches only take a couple minutes to perform, and will protect your tissues.

-Affordable yet quality running shoes - you should be able to get these for about 30-40 bucks. Look for them on sale at a sporting goods store. You do not want an ortophedic injury on top of your empty nose. I have some of those and trust me, being physically broken as a strong guy is not fun in any way.

-Bring water. Also, you may want to drink at least one small bottle of Gatorade (at least once) during your first week to replenish your electrolyte counts since your body may not be used to this kind of fitness. I imagine (but have no data) that exercising may throw this out of whack. 

-Go with someone if you can. I sometimes go with a family member. If I get fit enough, I'll go with my healthier friends. 

If I think of any more tips for you, hearthurts, I will update this. Feel free to message me privately if you have any questions about exercises. I also used to be a very strong weight lifter and can advise some of the guys on weight lifting and some of the ladies on toning (only if anyone wants; if not no worries). 

Edited 2 times by prpacell Mar 18 16 12:32 AM.