Three day streak and nose breathing

[Flyingred]

Last Friday's run in the snow was too miserable to complete, so I bailed out at 1.6k. On Sunday, the track I use had turned icy and dangerous but I persevered for 3.3k. Inspired by the 25 and 50-mile challenges around here, I thought I should up my volume somewhat, so I ran 5k yesterday and again today. I plan to do the same again tomorrow before work disrupts my routine for a couple of days. However, the plan is to run every day and see where it leads. No targets though as I don't want to put any pressure on myself.

Last week, I read 'The Oxygen Advantage' by Patrick McKeown. He is a trainer of the Buteyko method, which is taught to asthmatics to excellent effect. His book is well worth reading – in addition to asthma, he has helped a number of pretty serious sports people who found that their performance was limited by how they breathe.

No spoilers, but one thing McKeown recommends is always breathing through the nose. The standout reason is that the incoming air is enriched with nitric oxide as it passes through the nose and sinuses. Nitric oxide in the bloodstream dilates the arteries, lowering blood pressure and improving flow to vital organs.

I also sat up and took notice of experiments in which 'overbreathers' (i.e. mouth breathers) brought on heart arrhythmia and he suggests there may be a link between overbreathing and runners collapsing with heart problems on long distance events.

So since last week, I have been nose breathing on my runs. If tempted to mouth breathe, the solution is just slow down. I'm running 5k about 2 minutes slower than previously but I was 42 seconds faster today than yesterday and my heart rate was lower, so it looks like the body might adapt pretty fast.

[over61andstilltrying Graduate10]

Wow! How interesting! Thank you for passing this on. I confess to being a mouth breather, at least I'm pretty sure I am. I look forward to investigating tomorrow. I had absolutely no idea how much there is to think about concerning running. I thought you just opened the door of your house and ran! Massive L plates still needed, but it has all been so interesting and fun!

I have just had a read of some of your other posts. I'm interested to know what your Garmin puts as your maximum heart rate. Mine insists on 220-age, so 158, but that just isn't my maximum! I gather from reading that 220-age isn't right, I think particularly for 'older' folk. Even though I have manually entered a higher figure into my Garmin it adamantly refuses to use it.

I have had my heart rate at 184. On that particular easy pace run average heart rate was 130bpm. Any thoughts appreciated. Garmin kindly puts my VO2 max at 41, telling me that I am in the top 5% for my age and gender. I am not convinced at all!

[Flyingred Graduate10 in reply to over61andstilltrying]

Thanks – I'm pleased you find the post interesting. On one level, running is as easy as going out the door and running. But when you get into it, it's a different story. I really enjoy my runs and also exploring the science but my goal is to be as fit and well as I can to help me live longer! And the breathing stuff is definitely relevant to that.

It's good to be aware of your nose breathing, using your diaphragm, throughout the day. Breathe as lightly as you can. Then if you're giving it a go tomorrow, keep your mouth closed and set off at a pace you can sustain and if you're tempted to mouth breathe, slow down! Good luck.

I have seen 188 on my Garmin when running sprint intervals and I could probably have got it higher (as I hadn't run so fast that I couldn't go any more). You're right, the 220 minus age formula doesn't hold for runners over 40 or so.

I've just looked on my Garmin and zone 5 is >169, zone 4 is 150-168, zone 3 is 132-149, zone 2 is 113-131. I can't remember if I set those or if they are defaults. It says my VO2 max is 49, also in the top 5%. I'm sceptical too, but it did drop slightly when I ran with a slight chest infection a few weeks ago.