A question of breathing...

[Curlygurly2]

I was wondering the other day when I was out for my long run whether you lot here breathe consciously, I.E. deep breaths into your diaphragm or some such on your runs or just let your body sort it out in it's own way? Obviously on sprints we take a lot more breaths, but what do you do just on your slow long runs?

[Freecloud Marathon]

I mostly don't think about it and breath through my mouth. Saying that, I do slow down and take longer deeper breaths when my heart rate gets high. I have tried a few times to breath in through my mouth and out through my nose but it's such a lot of effort 😭.

EDIT: I had to correct what I had above where I said breathing through my nose, I got completely mixed up. I tried breathing through my nose on a fast run this evening and realised how wrong I was... was gasping for air and there was no way it was enough via my nose..

[Cmoi Marathon]

Umm I just get on with it Curlygurly2 !

If I worried about all the running-related things I *should* be taking seriously but don't - breathing, form, strength work, training plans, discipline, routine, diet, etc - I'd give up completely. Just too much like hard work for me.

Sorry not to be more helpful - hope somebody more useful will be along soon!

[Oldfloss Administrator]

I don't think about it unless I feel a tad pooped for whatever reason. Then I do consciously take a few deep , belly breaths ...

[Curlygurly2 Half Marathon in reply to Oldfloss]

Coach Bennet often tells us to think about it, I just wondered how any did - not many it seems!

[Oldfloss Administrator in reply to Curlygurly2]

Yes ,,, he often reminds us,,, and also... just remember to breathe : : It works wonders x

[Frizzbomb67 10 Miles in reply to Curlygurly2]

He does but I find breathing much harder when I’m focusing on it 😂. I just let it happen. I can’t breathe through my nose either 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Cmoi Marathon in reply to Curlygurly2]

Yeah well I've never listened to Coach Bennett either! 😈

[Sandraj39 Half Marathon]

Yep, I’m with Oldfloss - if I feel a bit ‘challenged aerobically’ 🤣, I try to do more belly breathing. I think it helps. Oh, and I always mouth breathe! 🙂

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

Likewise. I don't think of it unless I am struggling. Then I try to do a few deep breaths to get a new boost of Oxygen 😊

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon]

I have done a lot of CB runs lately and, as a result, I do make sure that I get my breathing back under control if I am gasping a bit in the first 1k of a run. I slow off and take deepish breaths. Once I have done that I can forget about breathing for the rest of the run. Nose breathing isn’t easy for me; I have lots of nose blocking pollen issues, but I can sometimes nose breath by inhaling as if I am mouth breathing (using those muscles) but just touching the roof of my mouth with my tongue at a point immediately behind my front teeth as I inhale! I have no idea when or why I discovered this, but it sometimes works for me!

[Curlygurly2 Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

That's interesting about the tongue touching, I feel I've heard that before somewhere...

I fear I am a very shallow breather and could probably do with a bit more air.

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Curlygurly2]

I think it engages the deep breathing muscles rather my using only my sniffing muscles! Makes sense to me anyway!🙂

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon]

Hi CG. 👋 I’m only aware of my breathing during the first few minutes of running, so the Toxic 10 (although it’s not usually that long thankfully). I visualise my body being flooded with oxygen, and then all of a sudden it happens and I don’t tend to think of it again on a long run. Very hilly runs are a different story, but I can get into a fairly decent rhythm and just go with it.

Nose breathing? Nope, doesn’t work for me. I tried, hated it, and don’t fancy doing it again! Running needs to be fun for me. 😅

[Curlygurly2 Half Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

Nice visualisation, I'll try that next time.

[Hedgehogs123 Metric Marathon]

I don't really think about it too much unless I am feeling really tired and then I do a quick system check as advised by Coach Bennet, who I think talks about about getting your breathing under control, because then you will gain back control over your running. So sometimes I have taken deeper breaths where I feel I have nothing left in the tank. I also find that Im more of a mouth breather, it just seems to be more natural for me.

[mrrun Ultramarathon]

I always warm up really well so that the transition to running is easier, and that means more comfortable breathing. If I start too soon, too fast, if breathing becomes a bit laborious as a result I’ll stop, walk, bring it back to a comfortable level and carry on. As a result I won’t pay attention to it afterwards. Of course, we are talking long slow runs here.

[Curlygurly2 Half Marathon in reply to mrrun]

Yes, I rarely do anything other than long slow runs. How do yo warm up? Stretching at home?

[mrrun Ultramarathon in reply to Curlygurly2]

I’ll do dynamic stretching that will bring my heart rate to a level where running would feel comfortable. I wouldn’t need more than 10 or so vigorous minutes at home and would target legs and hips but also shoulders (what is it with shoulders when you pass 50? 😉). If I’m driving to a specific spot I’ll aim at fast walking for up to 10-15 mins (rather than alarming innocent bystanders with my flapping), wearing a runners jacket and literary trying to break sweat. Then l can run forever even at a faster tempo. 😀