As I lay in fetal position at the end of my most memorable erg, shaking my head and crying, I realized that I could have done serious damage to my lungs. They were so full of it that I thought I would tear them. The aggravation took a long time to subside. It was horrible. It was terrible, but help was possible. After I had tweeted my frustration, a paddling buddy recommended the POWERbreathe, which he promised would work.

The POWERbreathe, a tiny gadget that prepares your stomach for obstruction, is designed to help you relax and strengthen your intercostal muscles. It is a device that you inhale multiple times, twice daily. It claims it will strengthen your breathing muscles and increase your perseverance. The site has this to say about it:

It’s not hard to believe that I was suspicious. Although everything seemed too extreme to be true, the possibility that each race would experience a metal-tasting, lung-destroying sensation was enough to convince me to give it another chance. POWERbreathe personnel suggested that I try the POWERbreathe In Addition to (the medium obstruction) and they gave me one to try. For the past month and a quarter, I have been using this device two times daily.

It works, and that’s the most amazing part. It was something I imagined at first. When my lungs seemed to be fine after we had completed instructional courses, I assumed it was because we were not in a race situation. Also, I thought that the improvement in my lung capacity when we ran at Evesham was due to the fact that I was controlling the race (assuming you would call my attempts to get us down the course sad) and not being ready to put 100 percent effort into the stroke.

It was a very difficult week, and we were really put to serious scrutiny. We hustled in the most difficult races of our lives. My lungs felt enlarged and I did some hacking afterwards. In any event, there wasn’t any aggravation or metallic desire for my lips. And, equally important, I didn’t experience that terrible stage in the race where you start to worry your lungs aren’t big enough to take all the air.

So, I believe in it and strongly recommend it. It’s a bit of a task to use it twice daily, but it’s well worth it.

Furthermore, relax…

The POWERbreathe is available in a variety of options from POWERbreathe and costs PS49.99.

Notice: The POWERbreathe was provided to me as a survey incentive. However, I did not receive any installment and my opinion is truthful and unpaid.