Startling revelation...

[Maddee_6333]

...to me anyway:

Spent a fair amount of yesterday's hour long run concentrating on my breathing; today my abs hurt like I'd done an ab workout yesterday.

😃

[Bazza1234 Graduate10]

What do you mean by "concentrating on your breathing" ? In what manner , are you concentrating?

[Maddee_6333 Graduate10 in reply to Bazza1234]

Concentrating on form - my inner voice goes like this for a bit at the start.

Breathe in: Through the nose and lower your diaphragm, really fill your lungs woman!

Breathe out: tighten those muscles and expel that air out through your mouth. Come on, you can do better than that you used to play the trumpet!

It then settles (or tries to) into: In, 234, 5678. Out,234, 5678... in time with my pace. With occasional interruptions from inner voice when it catches me breathing through me mouth the whole time.

[misswobble Graduate10 in reply to Maddee_6333]

I just breathe like I usually do, without thinking. I can't breathe through my nose and run. Don't know anyone who can come to that 🙂

[Bazza1234 Graduate10 in reply to misswobble]

I don't believe that you could or should just breathe like you "usually do" - running or any other high exertion requires something different. Personally, I couldn't run at all until I learned about and practiced rhythmic breathing while running. It comes "naturally" in time with practice - just like dancing does. When dancing, all you have to do is listen to the beat of the music and Dance in time to that beat - same goes for running except that there is no music , just the sound of your feet on the pavement. In time you don't even need that sound

[Maddee_6333 Graduate10 in reply to misswobble]

You know me 😉 I can breathe in through my nose when I run, except for when I am poorly, or have a touch of hay fever.

[Bazza1234 Graduate10 in reply to Maddee_6333]

Hmm - most people under breathe - ie they breath too quickly and shallowly. However, I believe it is also a fact that it is possible to over breathe. Essentially, you are taking 8 paces for both the intake and exhaust . That seems far too deep to me - you ARE running , not Yoga!! I guess it is up to you - but if you are getting abdominal pains from this exercise, like any other exercise, you could try winding it back a little.

[Bazza1234 Graduate10 in reply to Bazza1234]

PS - my understanding of breathing when running is that people "think" they need more air into their lungs - because that is what is instinctual. But the fact is that our lungs hold ample air for any task with a reasonably deep breath- but what the body is really needing is more oxygen to feed the muscles ( not more air in the lungs) . This can be done firstly by simply doing more slow paced cardiovascular running - but also by allowing more time for air to be converted to oxygen in the lungs . So - instead of breathing in for 8 beats and then breathing out for 8 beats - try breathing in for 4 beats - holding that air for 4 beats and then exhausting the remaining gasses still in the lungs for the next 4 beats

[Maddee_6333 Graduate10 in reply to Bazza1234]

I can do that while stationary, it makes my head pound. I can't imagine trying it whilst running, but I try to never say never (unless I'm taking about food - I am notoriously fussy about food).

[Bazza1234 Graduate10 in reply to Maddee_6333]

If you overbreathe while standing still , when your body is not calling for much oxygen, then you will indeed get the head spins But when you are running and the body needs oxygen, you will find it much easier - even essential - to do.

[Maddee_6333 Graduate10 in reply to Bazza1234]

I'm trying to figure out when my next hour long run will be...

I reckon it will be either late next Friday or early next Saturday. I'll wait till the end, give it a whirl then and report back.

[Maddee_6333 Graduate10 in reply to Bazza1234]

It wasn't painful painful, just... really like I'd done quite a few crunches the day before. Crunches not being something I've done in quite a while now!

My steps are quite small, so my count of 8 doesn't actually last very long 😀 certainly not as long as it did when my trumpet teacher had me doing more or less the same kind of exercise as a teenager whilst I was walking.

[Anniemurph Graduate10]

I'm like misswobble , I can't think about my breathing and breathe at the same time 'cos I'll fall over However, something that has really helped me recently is standing taller when I run. Laura actually mentions it, but I only just noticed that this week. What did it for me was that someone went on an actual running course and came back and mentioned it, and this coincided with me seeing myself running in a shop window. Not a pretty sight - I looked as though I was pushing an invisible zimmer. I also realised that I would not speak to a group of people all hunched over, I would free up my lungs and rib cage, so neither should I be running bent over. It makes a huge difference.

[Maddee_6333 Graduate10 in reply to Anniemurph]

I'm not too bad, I don't think? I don't have shop windows to check in, but I do try. Again it is something you can catch yourself doing - or not doing - at times. When I reported on running on running up a really tough hill near where I live, I don't think I mentioned that I was so focussed on looking at the path, and not 'up' the hill, that at one point I realised I was virtually bent double 😀 I would probably have executed an unintentional forward roll if I hadn't caught myself when I did!

[misswobble Graduate10]

Yes, Laura does say that and I try and do it. Run tall I thinkshe says

[roseabi]

All this reading about breathing is making me go dizzy

[Maddee_6333 Graduate10 in reply to roseabi]

No hyperventilating over there at the back!

[roseabi in reply to Maddee_6333]

*Gasp* Yes Ma'am!!