W4R1 smashed!

[MirandaJane]

I was so nervous about starting week 4, as I really struggled with the last run and felt as if I barely completed week 3 - but I've gone and done it! I ran further than I've run before, and at no point did I have the "I can't run a single step more" feeling. I think it helped a bit reading some comments on here about not trying to breathe through your nose - my breathing was definitely easier than it was last week. I need to bottle this memory to bring it out for the next few R1s!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Just breathe... normally, like you do every day..!

Then take it as slow as you like.. relax and enjoy the runs Well done you!

[MirandaJane in reply to Oldfloss]

Thanks for the encouragement Making sure not to go too fast, and not stressing about it, definitely helps!

Breathing 'normally' can be a little difficult for me, though - my spirometry results are on the very low end of normal, and I usually have to think myself out of a panic response to being out of breath after suffering chronic costochondritis as a teenager - so it was really useful to be able to pick up some tips for controlling it all better, and knowing what I could do to make my breathing easier.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to MirandaJane]

Right.. well, well done you for doing this ! The breathing is tricky... because if we try to do it as we are 'supposed to' it can make things harder... and one person's strategies might not suit you... could you find, maybe, some counting strategy or a rhyme in your head that helps you control it.. I know that sounds daft.. but when I was taking swimming lesson to improve my Crawl..I had real trouble breathing properly... the instructor told me to hum..on my underwater strokes.. three blind mice... it worked... I will try and think or find out some thing that may be helpful for you though !