Running and Breathing

kindle

hi all

right so some background i have also been pretty active i currently cycle a good bit between 10-15 miles 5 times a week in and out of college town etc. I would consider myself pretty fit as in my legs get tired sometimes but its fairly managable. Now its always been a goal of mine to be able to run a decent distance/time say 30-45mins so decided this was the year for it and made it my new years resolution. currently i can only manage about 10mins and then collaspe, but my legs arent tired i just cant get my breath, the weird thing is is that i am fine the next day, I feel like i havent done anything and after about 10mins i feel like i never went for a run. Over the last 4 weeks i really am not noticing any real improvement at all. I have heard that this may be due to a bad breathing pattern. Would anyone have any advice on this....

Cheers

K

edited for grammar opps

brianthebard

Are you jogging or sprinting/running quite fast? Also after the ten minutes and you stop what do you do next? stop running or start again?

Backtoblack

http://www.mamashealth.com/run/breath.asp
here's one link to breathing patterns but i'm not certain what you mean by that.

Personally, I find that i need to warm up a bit when i go out for a run, so I start at a slow pace & then build it up as i get more warmed up. So for the first 5 to 10 minutes i'm going slowish and then I can go a lot faster without as much stress on my body.
With breathing, i find that i run better when i'm relaxed and i find breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth works very well for me to keep me relaxed.
This is from a few years of running and what works for me, but i'm not an expert.. I run 20 to 30 kms a week a the moment (2 or 3 runs of 10k approx).

I do think breathing is important and its a lot of what I concentrate on when i'm running..
Anyone else?

kindle

after 10 mins i walk for a bit then attempt to run the same distance but i usually end up taking a few walking breaks on the way. I try to keep it at a consistent pace for the whole way, tbh i think i run pretty slow. Thanks for the link back2black will give it a shot and let yes know i get on. thanks again for the replies!

K

brianthebard

kindle wrote:

after 10 mins i walk for a bit then attempt to run the same distance but i usually end up taking a few walking breaks on the way. I try to keep it at a consistent pace for the whole way, tbh i think i run pretty slow. Thanks for the link back2black will give it a shot and let yes know i get on. thanks again for the replies!

K

Perhaps try going at a slower pace and use those breathing intervals, rather than seeing them as a bad thing. Look for articles on interval training and see how you can adapt that technique to your goals.

Phibsboro

Hi,

An interesting post! I was in almost exactly the same situation recently. I had decided to run the port tunnel run but had never jogged b4 in my life. I have become relatively fit over the last few years, mainly on an exercise bike and swimming (I can swim 1000m relatively easily). So I figured jogging wouldn't be too hard - but I was wrong

I am a great man for asking the interwebs bout stuff so I read up loads before I started. A lot of sites were reccommending very very slow starts and I kind of poo poo'ed these. The gist of what they say is walk, run, walk, run, with a starting pace of maybe 10 mins walking to one min running (!). I ignored these and decided to do a 5 walk/5 run the first time. I got about 60 seconds into the run and was completely out of breath!

So, I started again the next day only this time actually following the advice. I did 5 mins walking, one min running that first day, over a 3k stretch in the phoenix park. Over a number of weeks I gradually build this up - 5/3, 5/4, 5/5 then started shorting the walks so I was able to do 4/5, 3/6 2/8 etc. Eventually I was able to run the whole 3k. I think I started the process at the start of Nov and was able to run about half the 10k by mid Dec (though I was wrecked at the end!). I am now up to 6k constant run, did 2 last week, another 2 for this week and then I'll try for 8 next week.

So, my point is that running just seems to take the breath out of you in a different way to other exercises. But if you start very slowly it will come to you over a relatively short period of time.

This isn't the exact site I followed (can't find it) but it's very similar...

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

C

OfflerCrocGod

Try build up your stamina on a treadmill and maybe swimming too before you try any sort of real outside world running - increasing the amount you run on a treadmill is very easy and you have accurate measurements too

Static M.e.

Also starting into running did the 10k Port with a friend who told me I should pace myself by jogging at a speed I could still hold a conversation at.

Now I didnt plan on having any deep meening conversations in the tunnel but what he told me worked for us. We jogged the whole 10k in under 1 hour non stop which was my first time running more than 3k.

Its probably not a great system but it works for me as I find it quite difficult to judge my speed. Slow and steady gets me over the finish line.

quozl

It's not actually that you're running out of breath or that there's any problem with your breathing at all. The problem is that the muscles you're using to run aren't the same ones you use to cycle and they're not trained at all. So they're very poor at extracting oxygen from the blood and poor at using it quickly once they have it. Your body interprets them not getting enough oxygen to meet their demands as a sign to increase your breathing rate, even though your blood is probably already saturated. We've lots of stupid mechanisms. What's actually making you stop is that you're going into oxygen-debt because you're demanding more energy from your running muscles than they can produce aerobically. So they have to produce a large proportion of it anaerobically, if you can't clear the by-products of that as quickly as it's produced that means lactate buildup, decreasing pH and eventually your muscles shutting down.

Once you stop running, you'll start paying back that oxygen debt and be back to neutral quickly enough.

Check out http://www.pfitzinger.com/labreports/longruns.shtml
The first 4 adaptations are what you're missing. You'll get them with time, it's about 6 weeks for new mitochondria to fully grow, months to years for all your capillaries to fill out, but you'll get shorter term gains from the mitochondria you have becoming more effecient and from improvements in your enzymes.

The rate you'll get them is related to how much time you spend training them, so a 10 minute run won't do as much good as 8minute run, 3 minute recovery, 8 minute run or if you can 7,3,7,3,7. Also how many times a week do you run? If you're only doing twice then up it to three, beyond that do be careful as you start out because you'll be a lot stronger cardiovascularly than your tendons, bones and muscles will be.


So don't worry about your breathing really, just get in the miles at a very slow pace and this problem will go away. That couch to 5k plan someone already linked is a very good place to start. Oh, and you're also running too fast

thirtyfoot

Static M.e. wrote:

Also starting into running did the 10k Port with a friend who told me I should pace myself by jogging at a speed I could still hold a conversation at.

Now I didnt plan on having any deep meening conversations in the tunnel but what he told me worked for us. We jogged the whole 10k in under 1 hour non stop which was my first time running more than 3k.

Its probably not a great system but it works for me as I find it quite difficult to judge my speed. Slow and steady gets me over the finish line.

You aren't too wrong, the Arthur Lydiard "Talk Test" for a jogger....

""Follow the "talk test"; if you can't carry on a conversation while running, you're going too fast. Slow down. Conversational running is the safest and most efficient way to train""

http://www.joggers.co.nz/

essdee

I'd suggest wearing a heart rate monitor and to run at 'aerobic threshold' level (usually means keeping your heart rate at "180 minus your age" beats per minute). This is similar to jogging at conversational pace but it is a bit more precise and as you get fitter you will find that you're able to cover more ground in the same amount of time, keeping your heart rate at the same level. I was advised on a running course that 80% of my running should be at this aerboic threshold level and 20% of my running should be at 'lactic threshold" level (the above rate + 20 beats per minute). This latter type of running takes its toll on your body and it needs time to rebuild itself afterwards (and according to my tutor why so many top athletes spend so much time injured). You can do a Google search to find out more. This link calculates the rates a bit differently but gives similar advice: http://www.bupa.co.uk/health_information/html/healthy_living/lifestyle/exercise/running/heart.html

bugs90

Interesting thread. I was having exactly the same problem. Pretty good cardio fitness I thought but running seemed to get me out of breath way too quickly and didn't seem to be improving. I was running about 3/4 speed though, about 2k.
Going to give this a go to try build up longer distance running...

PeadarofAodh

As I do a lot of running and cardio for rowing I'd consider myself to be pretty fit. I've done the Phoenix Park 10k run in 37mins, but I always find that if I don't control my breathing rate properly it can really affect the pace I can run a distance. I generally get distracted quite easily when my breathing rate increases and find that listening to music during long distance running can help keep me focused and also means I can control my breath rate without having to listen to it...which can really get on my nerves!

kindle

hey,

Thanks for all the replies, turns out i just needed to leave my ego at the door, running slower meant i could focus on my breathing and therefore run longer! thanks again!

k