Breathing: Hi everyone. Im training for a 10k... - Couch to 5K

Couch to 5K

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Breathing

Kajcho profile image
18 Replies

Hi everyone. Im training for a 10k however my training plan starts with a 5k first. I have finished week 5 run 3 which was 5 min warm up walk and 20 mins running. I feel like I'm going really slow and not breathing deep enough.

Can anyone advise breathing tips and techniques?

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Kajcho profile image
Kajcho
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18 Replies
Darcyduck profile image
Darcyduck

Congratulations on completing week 5 👍 what works for me is inhaling deep breaths through my nose and exhaling through my mouth . I’m not an expert , but find this technique works

Kajcho profile image
Kajcho in reply toDarcyduck

Thanks darcyduck, I will try that. When i usually tey to breathe deep, I get a twinge under my ribs.

UnfitNoMore profile image
UnfitNoMoreGraduate

Firstly the speed isn’t an issue... you’re looking at building endurance and slower running is the quickest way to do that. If what Darcyduck says works for you it’s probably the best way to go.

Great job so far on the plan... enjoy that journey to 10k

Kajcho profile image
Kajcho in reply toUnfitNoMore

Thanks for this. I did try the 3-5 method but it didn't feel right. Should I just focus morw on getting the run done rather than the breathing?

UnfitNoMore profile image
UnfitNoMoreGraduate in reply toKajcho

I did... I started listening to podcasts and focused on them... left the breathing to sort itself out.

Kajcho profile image
Kajcho in reply toUnfitNoMore

Thats a great idea. What podcasts did you listen to?

UnfitNoMore profile image
UnfitNoMoreGraduate in reply toKajcho

I went for No Such Thing as a Fish (it’s the QI researchers podcast) and also comedy of the week (radio 4) and a lot of others now.

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduate in reply toUnfitNoMore

I listen to BBC radio dramas, documentary and Comedy when running :)

They are a Godsend ! :)

Really interesting, I learn bits and pieces, have a laugh, am distracted from focusing on how "hard this run is" and if I don't get to the end of one - a great motivation to run next time so I can finish it :)

UnfitNoMore profile image
UnfitNoMoreGraduate in reply toIrish-John

I should try some drama

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduate in reply toUnfitNoMore

I record from the BBC Radio Sounds site.

They keep changing the damn format and presently navigation is clunky but man is there good stuff on it :)

UnfitNoMore profile image
UnfitNoMoreGraduate in reply toIrish-John

Yeah, the app is awful... I get all of mine from podcast sites at the moment... why the BBC are trying to reinvent the wheel I don’t know... just put more of their content on podcast... job done

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduate in reply toUnfitNoMore

Imho its a form of pomposity and techno pretentiousness the BBC has lamentably seemed to become more and more prone to over the last ten years or so. Content is now secondary to 'presetation' and 'personalities' - said personalities who do little more than seem to sit around gushing over each other. The earliest Iplayer version I used was in 2006. Really simple and clearcut, then they changed it and now its changed to 'Sounds' ( I wonder how much was spent on that Market Research!) and that dumb ass photo dominating the page.

More and more, I'm actually recording from an alternative archive on the web of the Dramas old and present - no multiclicking through menus and mostly these days being disappointed at a lot of the offerings. And the older stuff is GOOD! :)

But - also have to say, it would be terrible if the Beeb went under altogether. There are still enough things on for us old farts to enjoy - media is otherwise very dismissive of our demographic. But - if the Beeb thinks it can ditch its present viewers and capture the MTV lot it will be their biggest and possibly last mistake they ever make...

UnfitNoMore profile image
UnfitNoMoreGraduate in reply toIrish-John

I agree... Iplayer was great... allow it to download their podcasts and keep the TV and radio together... perfect app. What’s driving me nuts is I hear a great episode of something new in say comedy of the week... and I have to struggle with sounds to get the rest. I listen to the news quiz and so subscribe to news quiz extra... then it’s always comedy of the week when it’s on, so I get it twice... give me the best stuff on comedy of the week, excluding anything that has its own podcast... if it gets good feedback, give it its own podcast.

Sadly the BBC seems more interested in TV land in beating ITV in the ratings, which is really against what they should be, they get money a different way so they don’t have to sell advertising... forget ratings battle and give more focus on niche stuff. Obviously this is from the point of view of someone in the UK... maybe it’s not the ratings, it’s selling their stuff worldwide maybe that is the focus. They want to play that game... scrap the license fee and go commercial.

The sad thing is they can’t keep their personalities, they can’t pay the wages... and they won’t allow them to be paid via companies any more... so this is also a flawed route to take... someone at the top needs their head banging!

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduate in reply toUnfitNoMore

I tend to think they actually get too much money too easily because of the licencing. They seem to take it for granted nowadays that 'We know what we want - and if you don't like it ...well, you simply don't understand higher things!"

It's like 'The Arts''

So many places I've lived, the Opera houses, Theatres etc etc get public funding because they cannot survive without it. However - then they price the tickets, and 'earmark' a hell of a lot of them anyway, out of reach of Joe Soap whose taxes help pay for the damn things.

So - you get these elitist rubbish that the arts are both 'essential' yet 'not always understood by those who are not well informed about Art' and blah blah blah blah..

I would love to see a Death Metal concert being underwritten like that LOL

In a nutshell - the Beeb is a cash cow for those on the inside and they milk it for all its worth. Us common lot get the minimum to keep the inevitable mounting of a class action law suit for Breach of Implied Contract of Service as far in the future as possible for the present Nabobs ;)

UnfitNoMore profile image
UnfitNoMoreGraduate in reply toIrish-John

I remember in the early 90s recession, Megadeth came all the way to Europe, and played pretty small venues at £5 a ticket because times were hard for us and we’d paid £20+ the time before... no way they made money on that tour... and we loved them more for it. Now Metallica turn up and want £100 a ticket... screw them, I refuse to pay it.

I did see Pavarotti in Manchester on the evening of the 1991 European cup winners cup final... he told us we should be at home watching the game 😂. That was £85 a ticket... and yeah he was good... but so was the football! Dad is a city fan for some reason! That was my only childhood foray into it not being worth it no matter how great. I’ve had the “pleasure” of a couple of black tie evenings at the ballet, opera and charity dinners... it’s not my thing at all.

Irish-John profile image
Irish-JohnGraduate in reply toUnfitNoMore

Attended more operas, premieres, First Showings etc than I care to remember through former work. Some good moments but overall boring. I also strongly suspected that at least a sizable minority at these things were bored brainless also but 'one must be seen at this kind of thing'. :)

I remember most of all a pompous old fart wearing an opera cape ( "Look at me everyone!!" LOL ) mistaking me for an Usher. In fairness, an understandable mistake as I was wearing a regular suit and kind of standing around as unobtrusively as possible. But Mr. Fantastico Goldenuts made a bad mistake when he tried to shove his companions coat at me with a peremptory

'You! Take this!"

whilst staring off in another direction - after all, one does not acknowledge the lackeys by actually LOOKING at them old chap, why they might start thinking they were deserving of our attention! - and his look of fury when I simply let the damn thing flop onto the carpet. LOL. His even bigger mistake was to attempt to hit me with his show-off silver handled cane - but we will draw a veil of professional discretion over that part.

Anyway - the real victims that night were the performers. My Principle did not summarily dismiss me so I carried out my duty which was basically to stand in the background and keep an eye out. However, most of the audience had witnessed the wee drama in the Foyer and were wondering who the hell I was so they kept looking around to try and figure it out :) Half the action on the stage suffered from lack of audience attention :)

Somewhere in Europe there is probably still a broken cane stored in an evidence locker, along with a report probably headed

'Altercation between rude snobby fat bollocks and crazy Irish dude - it wasn't over til the fat guy screamed" :)

And I must now stop derailing this thread - happy running UNM :)

IannodaTruffe profile image
IannodaTruffeMentor

Welcome to the forum and well done on getting started.

This guide to the plan is essential reading healthunlocked.com/couchto5... and includes advice on breathing.

Enjoy your journey.

BeatRoute profile image
BeatRouteGraduate

I listen to the podcast Free Weekly Timed. It is all about Parkrun. Hosted by Vassos Alexander, sports reporter. It is timed for exactly half an hour. I have had limited success with Strava, which cannot always pick up a signal and always self pauses at least once part way round. So on my 30 minute runs, listening to something that i know is half an hour means I have a back up measurement of time. However, I do find the beat of a good running playlist to be the best motivator.

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