I have read many books about the subject and recovered from asthma. I exclusively nose breathe. Never mouth breathe. And I try to do shallow breathing when I run to the extent possible. This conserves carbon dioxide which is highly desirable and very healthy. I have cured lifelong asthma but even if you have no asthma, I believe nose breathing is very important to overall health, and not just inhalation but exhalation.

The less you thing about breathing the better. Don't breathe only through your nose and don't time your breathing with your steps, just concentrate on maintaining good form and let the breathing take care of itself. You will eventually fall into a breathing pattern that works well for you. If you find yourself out of breath, it's not because you are breathing wrong, it's just that you are running at too fast a pace for your level of conditioning.

Breathing is over rated anyway. Even while running you only use around a third of the oxygen that you inhale, the rest gets exhaled. The real limiting factor is the ability of your body to transport that oxygen to your muscles which will improve as your mileage increases.

Tom


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http://This message has been edited by figbash (edited Jul-24-2007).

quote:<HR>Originally posted by maryt:
I have no idea where that breathing in through your nose idea comes from. No way most runners can get enough air in and out if you limit yourself to that technique, and it definitely slows you down, so maybe it's told to newbies as a way to keep them from starting out too fast?

greapejelly
I'm not sure where you get the idea of conserving CO2 being good. The whole sitmulus for breathing is to get rid of CO2 to prevent your blood from becoming too acidic (respiratory acidosis). If your'e asthmatic, there is a plus for restricting yourself to nose breathing, because your nose can help filter out allergens like pollen. However, restricting breathing to just the nose is not necesary for most runners and will limit speed. <HR>

for good articles on this see http://www.tullyrunners.com/Articles/RaucciArticle.htm[/URL" target="_blank"> and all of John Raucci's articles on the tullyrunners.com site. A great perspective on changing over to nose-breathing and how it doesn't hurt performance at all.

Further:

1. Nose breathing conditions air going into your lungs, humidifies and filters it.

2. Most of us overbreathe. We take in too much air. Our CO2 levels are too low. This causes things like snoring, asthma, allergies, weight gain, blood sugar problems, a whole constellation of problems found at the same time in many people.

3. Google "Buteyko" to get an idea of why higher levels of arterial CO2 are desirable.

4. Nose breathing limits your air intake to more natural levels so you don't over-breathe.

I know it sounds counter-intuitive but the less you breathe, the better you oxygenate (within limits obviously.)

quote:<HR>Originally posted by Gregolowe:
The reason people can't breathe through their noses and run I believe is because they are not aerobically fit.<HR>

I can't breathe through my nose while running and I am very fit aerobically.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by maryt:
I have no idea where that breathing in through your nose idea comes from. No way most runners can get enough air in and out if you limit yourself to that technique, and it definitely slows you down, so maybe it's told to newbies as a way to keep them from starting out too fast?
<HR>

Okay, everyone; for the record, I AM agreeing Mary here! ;o)

Seriuosly, I used to work for a company called CNS which was (since been bought out by a big European company) manufacturer and distributor of Breathe Right Nasal Strip. And, get this, I designed BRNS for horses. Yes, race horses! (my name is on the patent as a disginer or the shape). I've read that nose-breathing article before and it's quite fascinating. We are actually supposed to breathe through the nose. Most people do have trouble breathing through their nose and that is why they get dry mouth in the morning (because they breathe through their mouths instead) which leads to bad breath and ultimately bad teeth (bacteria growth). There have been some dentists who recommends BR at night for prevention of cavity because it enhances nose breathing! Incidentally (now I don't work for them any more), I swear by wearing it at night because, whatever the physiological reason, it makes me feel well-rested in the morning--snoring or not!

Now, horses... They are what they call obligatory nose-breather. They can't breathe through their mouth, nose only. And, because of that, actually, they bleed in their lungs. The air pressure difference becomes so great that it starts to suck blood into their lungs and they start to bleed out of their nose. Actually that alone tells me somehow that nose breathing only is too stressful???

Here's what I know about running and breathing. I need to breathe during the run (duh!). And sometimes I need to raise my shoulders up a bit to suck more air in and, once done, feels better and push the pace again. If I can't do that for whatever the reason, I'd head for a bad performance. So as far as I'm concerned and my running is concerned, I like to suck as much air into my system as I can. I know the level of CO2 in the brain actually controls the air ventilation mechanism but I'd like to suck as much O2, not CO2, into my system while running.

In regards to breathing during the run, I like this following comment--it was either Arthur Lydiard or Marty Liquori who said it--someone asked in the audience, "What about breathing?" He replied, "I'd suggest you do it!" Then added, "You need lots of oxygen. If you can breathe through your ears, do it." I believe aincient Finns came up with those weird mechanical breathing technique and I remember I was concious about it...when I was like in 5th grade. As I train more and got fitter, I almost forgot those "technique" of breathing. Do it naturally. If you feel you need more, do it through your ears even!

I have exercise, allergy, and who-knows-what-else induced asthma. I relied on an inhaler for a while, but it didn't really fix the problem so I quit using it except for emergencies. Some days I will have no trouble breathing at all, and some I'm gasping for air. I guess it depends on the level of exertion, air quality, etc.

I usually breath through my nose only, I find it easier to take controlled, long, deep breaths. If I breath through my mouth I tend to "over breath" (which a lot of people who have asthma do) and it feels like I'm hyperventilating. I only breath through my mouth (still breathing through my nose too) if I'm really exerting myself. This works for me, I'm not saying it will for you.

Posture is also important. Run tall and upright with your spine straight and shoulders relaxed (roll them back if you need). Your chest should be poking out slightly with your hips underneath and your arms at your sides. I've read this makes breathing easier and it has worked for me.

Other things I've read and tried which have helped.
-"Stomach breathing", allowing your stomach to fill up/poke out when you breath in, and using your stomach to help you exhale.
-Syncing your breathing up with your strides.

The last thing I can say is relax and try not to think about it too much. The main things I do are the nose breathing and running with good posture. If I'm really having trouble I'll concentrate on the other methods.

Breathe just through your nose if you want, but you will be able to go faster if you breathe in however you can the most air. Asthmatics may present a special problem, but for the majority, there is no reason to try to restrict the way you breathe unlesss you want to run slower, which is not what most of us are about.

Yes, if you have some arterial CO2 your blood may give up oxygen a little more easily, but if you study physiology you realize that if you have too much CO2 and don't get rid of it, your blood pH will go too high - the reason you breathe harder when you run is to blow off that excess CO2 caused by the extra metabolism. You don't want to go into respiratory acidosis.

There have been studies done on runners who concentrated on trying to keep their breathing in rhythm with their steps and the studies I have seen showed that those who thought about their breathing got slower while the ones who just let nature take care of it were faster.

So, if you want to run slow, by all means pay great attention to making your intake match a particular stride pattern and don't breathe through your mouth and make sure you breathe very shallowly or very slow and deep depending on whether you believe jellybelly or BIGEM1 and RacingThoughts. If you want to go fast, on the other hand, just let your breathing take care of itself.

http://This message has been edited by maryt (edited Jul-24-2007).