Need To Sort Out Breathing/Hydration

[PollensaPal]

I seem to be struggling with my runs at the moment. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m not very good at taking fluids on board (I never drink very much even if I’m not running) or because I always seem to just breathe just through my mouth. Either way my mouth/throat is really dry for all of the run. I’ve always been a bit like this on runs but I think I’m noticing it more now that the weather is warmer (which I love). I’ve tried breathing in through my nose & out through my mouth, but I don’t seem to be able to get enough air in that way. I’ve also tried taking a small water bottle round me, but that wasn’t a great success either!

I really want to build up the time/distance of my runs, but at the moment feel that this is holding me back!

Any advice gratefully received

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

Hydration is much more about what you drink all day every day, and as it can take a couple of days to achieve good hydration it’s very much about the day before. I have 2 800ml water bottles that I fill before I go to bed, and leave on the side in the kitchen. In the morning I grab bottle 1 and carry it with me everywhere but on a run, and I sip it all day every day. When bottle 1 is empty I fill it and switch bottles. Usually I can get through 3 bottles without actually having a drink of water in the usual sense. The sipping is good because it tends to cause less toilet trips (meaning more of it is staying in me) and also because it’s habit forming... I do it without noticing these days, but it took a while to get used to. Alongside this I drink tea and sometimes also those drinks with the empty calories of an evening (after my run) but the active bottle is still also being sipped from. For a run, I’m pretty much good to go without water for 5k all year round, and 10k unless it’s particularly hot. I don’t like carrying it as I run, so I leave it in the car for a long run, and tend to run a long loop around it, with a shorter loop planned out for when I want to have a drink.

Breathing I tend to just forget about... I have noted on occasions that I’m only using my mouth (sometimes I catch flies) and yet on other runs I’m using my nose. Most runs are nasal, as I’m running comfortably, until about the 7/8k mark when I notice that I’ve switched over.

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate]

The best advice of running and C25K is to drink plenty of water, if you do not do that you could get dehydratrd and find running very hard, so I think you should start drinking more water 💦 if you wish to continue with your running.

[Hidden]

Don't worry about breathing; your body will do what you need

However, do worry about hydration- not so much when you are running- but all the time. You should be drinking about 6-8 glasses of water each and every day (this can include tea or squash etc). I try and have a drink every hour, and extra if the weather is hot or I am going a long way.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

This explains the crucial nature of hydration to runners. healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

Keep your breathing as natural as you can.......it will develop in time.