Every Breath You Take
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Ahhh…who doesn’t like the Police? I’m going to add that song to my playlist now…:-)
Don’t you just hate the feeling of not being able to get enough air? I have had a couple of asthma attacks and they are scary, but I’m not talking about that. I am talking about breathing and feeling like your lungs aren’t working fast or deep enough, as if you are only receiving a percentage of oxygen you could potentially get. Can you increase your breathing rate like you would your cadence? Can you train yourself to breathe deeper?
Not too long ago, my husband introduced me to a strategy he had read about where when running the objective is to exhale on alternating feet. Ideally, one would breathe using a 3-2 count (breathing in three, exhaling two with a different foot for every exhale). Normally, I would breath on a 2-2 count, so the extra time inhaling should help, right?
So, I gave it a shot. I was a skeptic, but I found it made a noticeable difference. Not just in how I was able to fill my lungs, but also because it gave me something else to focus on. I found it especially helpful towards the end of a run when I was most tired and struggling to get air. When I would pick up my pace I would switch back to a 2-2 count, but would make sure I would alternate which foot I would exhale every so often.
Doing a little more research, most of the reasoning behind the alternating foot strikes is to reduce injury! Who would have thought?? Well, some folks would 🙂 Apparently, when we exhale and hit the pavement at the same time, a disproportionate amount of stress will affect one side of the body. A few steps in a row wouldn’t be bad, but over hundreds of miles the stressors to just one side could manifest as an injury. While not everyone agrees with this theory or feels that there is enough evidence to support these findings (see second article linked below), it does seem logical to shake things up a bit.
In addition to the rate of flow of my breathing, I also feel/felt like I wasn’t maximizing my oxygen intake. Again, doing a little research, I learned I am doing it wrong. Well, clearly I am breathing well enough, otherwise I wouldn’t be typing this. But, I am what you would call a classic chest breather. I take a deep breath and my chest moves up and down. However, to maximize my oxygen intake, I need to belly breathe, aka abdominal breathing. With this breathing, the focus is on expansion and contraction of one’s diaphragm rather than their chest which is usually (and naturally) associated with our lungs.
On my last long run (just short of ten miles), I made a point to: 1. Get lost in the run – because what fun is running if all you do it is think about form and breathing:-) 2. When I felt overly tired or winded, I would go to the 3-2 count and focus on belly breathing. This run was one of my best long runs in a long time. I was shooting for a ten minute pace and came in at just over 9:30 min/mi.
Do I always breath 3-2? No. I try to run as relaxed and natural as I can, but when I start to feel things get tight or if I feel out of breath, I know that this can help. Will I be doing more belly breathing? Heck yeah! In addition to helping me feel like I am not gasping for air, there are lots of benefits to belly breathing even outside of running (see third link below).
Below I have a few links relating to breathing rate and belly breathing if you would like to check them out. Does this help you? Have you tried these techniques before? What else have you tried that has made a positive impact?
Sayonara for now! Time to go swim – cross training/ build lung capacity day;-)
Running On Air: Breathing Technique
How to Breathe While Running (this might surprise you) | Strength Running
https://yurielkaim.com/belly-breathing/
Video: How to abdominal breathing when running https://youtu.be/5smmFtChEpU