Breathing

[crose]

I just completed week 3 and boy was I struggling to breathe through. Anyone have any helpful suggestions on breathing techniques? I really worried about week 4 and if I can do it. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

[AngeApples Graduate]

I thought I should be breathing better, must get a better technique etc but I found it a struggle during those first few weeks to try and do everything at once - luckily my breathing is natural because I would have forgot to do it otherwise, concentrating so much on whether I was over-pronation, under-pronation, heel striking, tip-toeing etc etc.

I've just done W5 R3 and did concentrate on my breathing in the hope I'd get through my first ever 20 min run. I inhaled and exhaled deeply giving me the extra breath to complete the run.

Sorry I don't have any tips for you because I just do what feels right for me but all I will say is try not to worry too much about techniques at this stage.

I am a perfectionist and insist upon perfect running, breathing blah blah blah, in reality I'm an overweight woman and I'm proud of what I've achieved over 5 weeks.

Good Luck

[crose]

That is awesome for you - Congrats on your 20 min run!! I so hope I'll get there too.

Ok i'll give that a try, just go and run and the rest will come.

[magicfee23 Graduate]

Agree totally with AngeApples. Stop thinking about it too much and just go with what feels right for you- your body will tell you what it needs and make you do it.

I personally go with the in and out technique, as long as I'm still doing that then I reckon I'll survive the run! I chuck in the odd deeper one when at the foot of a hill, feel the start of a stitch coming on or whenever I get the sinking feeling that I'm not going to make the time or distance I'd planned - and I usually do.

Good luck

[jennstron]

I got a tip from my boyfriend which seems to be paying off. Chew gum when running it naturally regulates your breathing. I really struggled on this run but completed it with eases doing the above.

[CouchSpud Graduate]

Agree. I struggled too, (now on Wk 7 R1) if I thought about breathing my legs went like lead and were hard to move, I slowly eat a menthol sweet at the start of each session, it opens up the airwaves for the first few minutes and takes away the stressful breathing thoughts for a while... Breathing is still not perfect even at week 7 but I know it's improving each time I run..