Breathe in, Breathe Out

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 13^th part 87. I think I’d make a fantastic Jason.