This week report cards are due, our school is hosting an
open house on Saturday, my husband’s work hours have increased due to a big
project and to top it off I have an essay due for my speed work class. I almost
forgot to mention that I get to read said essay in front of my running group-public
speaking-sweet! It’s all a bit overwhelming, but before I head into stress mode
I need to just stop and breathe. Oh, right, breathing, that’s what got me in
this essay writing predicament in the first place.
Breathing. It’s pretty simple really, oxygen in, carbon
dioxide out. Oxygen in, carbon dioxide out. Repeat for let’s say 80-100 years
and you’re good to go. This has always been enough for me. I do understand that
there are many people from yogis to runners who think there’s more to this
breathing thing than just inhaling and exhaling. I’ve known for years that my
running might be a little better if I could take deeper breaths especially on
hills, but I have never really mastered this. When workouts get tough, my
breathing transforms from that of a sweet and mild school teacher to that of a
B movie killer. My breathing strikes
terror in my running partners, they cautiously look over their shoulders
expecting some psychopath in a hockey mask wielding a chainsaw. “Oh, it’s just
Aimee climbing a hill. Of course.”
I’ve read some things here and there and half-heartedly
listened to coaches explain the breathing process, but really the whole thing
is foreign. First of all, there are rhythms that a good runner gets into. I’ve
read about these. There are simple ratios that a focused breather needs to
follow. Impressively, some runners are able to match their breathing to their
foot strikes. For example on every exhale your left foot is hitting the
pavement. I’m just barely coordinated enough for my feet to hit the pavement at all (I’ve
been known to kick myself while running on more than one occasion), I can’t
imagine trying to synchronize it with my breath. Still, this seemed like a
simple formula that I could master with a little concentration, so I decided to
find out more. The first place my research took me recommended a rhythm of
inhaling for two foot strikes then exhaling for the next two. This is called a
2:2 rhythm. Next, I went on to another site where a different expert encouraged
a 3:3 rhythm. Another site and another expert, this one saying you could even
go as far as a 4:4, especially if you are a beginner or doing a really steep
hill. I am constantly doing math while I run- How many more miles do I have to go? How many minutes will it take me?
How many calories am I burning? How many slices of pizza can I have when I’m
finished with all this? So, adding more calculations, this time in the form
of ratios shouldn’t be too overwhelming.
The experts may differ on the exact ratio of inhaling to
foot strikes, but everyone agrees that during times of exertion you should be
breathing from your belly and not your chest. This sounds strange to me as the
last time I checked my lungs were in, of all the darnedest places, my chest! Apparently though, the air sacs which contain
carbon dioxide are in the lower parts of your lungs. You can’t get rid of the
CO2 and let new oxygen in unless you are taking deep breaths. Belly breathing,
involves inhaling deeply enough that you feel your abdomen filling like a
balloon. Years of brownies, cookies and ice cream sandwiches have given me the
constant feeling of a balloon belly. And frankly I spend most of my awake time
holding that puppy in. Now, I’m supposed to purposely push out the tummy? I
don’t think so.
The experts also debate whether you should be breathing
through your nose, your mouth or a combination of both. I’ll be honest; I’ve
seen some ugly things coming out of the noses of runners, especially at this
time of year. The idea of me intentionally trying to push anything out of my
nose, even if it’s air, is not appealing. Therefore, I decided I’d revisit the
nose vs. mouth topic some other time.
I finally did find a blog where someone said runners should most
often be taking shallow breaths. I
finally felt validated, until I read the many outraged comments debunking this
theory. Apparently you can’t believe everything you read on the internet.
Even though I know
short, shallow breaths are not ideal, I’ve not managed to put breathing on the
top of my priority list. My running priorities involve consistency,
endurance and speed. According to my research, however, better breathing can
actually help with all of my other goals. It’s not just the lungs that need
oxygen. The muscles do, too. The more oxygen I take in, the more my lungs are
willing to share with other parts of me. Better oxygenated muscles mean more
speed, more endurance and more energy to stay consistent.
Another important body part that benefits from oxygen is the
good old brain. I don’t know about you, but at my age, the more brain power,
the better. For those who run endurance events the lack of oxygen to the brain
is no joke. We don’t need to find ourselves hours in to a trail run feeling
disoriented, confused and lightheaded. I
say save those feelings for the Pub, post-race.
Breathing-it’s so simple, yet people spend a great deal of
time reading about it, asking about it, worrying about it and writing about it.
After all my time spent researching the topic I have decided to:
1. Focus on my
breathing the next time I do a solo run.
2. Borrow Chi Running from the library.
3. Share my info with
you and
4. Audition for Friday the 13th part 87. I think
I’d make a fantastic Jason.
I decided to read this one in preparation for my first "running class" tomorrow. Like you, I'm thinking I may not be coordinated enough to sync my running with my breathing. I tried and failed to do that in Pilates ~ so I'm not too hopeful.
ReplyDeleteCarrie had told me about Chi Running awhile ago. I'd be interested in your thoughts about it. Though, right now, I'm going to concentrate all my efforts into making through that class tomorrow without throwing up or passing out. ;)