Out of Breath?

It’s important to remember that, if you run out of breath, become dizzy or nauseous, it means you are not taking in enough oxygen for the speed you are running. Generally speaking, this means you must either adjust your speed, or the amount of air you take into your lungs. The tips below keep those two strategies in mind.

7 Key Breathing Tips

1. Try slowing down before attempting to change your breathing.
2. Focus on longer, deeper breaths.
3. Breath more from your diaphragm (belly) than your chest (chest breathing is more shallow).
4. Focus on exhaling more fully. This will remove more CO₂ (Carbon Dioxide) and allow for deeper inhalations of O₂ (Oxygen).
5. Allow air to enter through both the nose and mouth. This will allow for maximum O₂ intake.
6. Aim to take three footsteps for every inhale, and two footsteps for every exhale (3:2 ratio). A good descriptions of this can be found on Military.com:
   

   Many experts will say that to fully oxygenate the muscles and clear the body of carbon dioxide you should breathe a 3:2 inhale-to-exhale ratio; full inhales and full exhales. This means you INHALE on the LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT foot strikes and EXHALE fully on the RIGHT, LEFT foot strikes. This pattern is not that hard to turn into a habit, but it may require you to slow your pace down for a few runs to master the technique. You will notice a lower heart rate as you are able to get more oxygen in and more importantly push all the carbon dioxide out of your body. You may notice that you naturally drop to a 2:1 ratio when you are really pushing it to the finish. That is OK. But realize it is difficult to maintain a pace that requires you to breathe at a 2:1 ratio.

   For those wanting more explanation about step to breath ratios, another article – based on the Daniel’s Running Formula – can be found at this link on proper breathing while running

7. One last thing – try not to over-think your breathing! It’s best to try to slow down, relax, and let yourself fall into your body’s natural rhythm.

Following these tips should make breathing easier, and your runs more enjoyable. For you audio/visual learners, I’ve included two very good video clips which cover much of what I’ve described above.

Happy running!

Videos

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It would also be the one bit of running advice most frequently ignored.

Here at CompleteRunning.com the most popular article of all-time is 100 Beginner Running Tips, at least five of which have to do with slowing down.

When it comes to other running advice, we usually get the picture after one bad experience. We remember the BodyGlide. We don’t wear brand-new running shoes for our first marathon. We don’t eat fettucini alfredo before a race.
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But it seems as though everyone—no matter their experience level—has recurring bouts of going out too fast and then struggling at the end. Mathematically it doesn’t matter if you run the first half of a 10k in 20 minutes and the second half in 25 minutes, or vice versa, but I guarantee it will feel a lot different.

It’s reasonably well-established that for distances greater than 5k, you will average a better speed over the course of a race if you start more slowly than your goal pace, and gradually build up to it. The problem is our bodies naturally want to go faster while we feel fresh and slower when we feel tired. It takes some mental discipline to overrule our physical tendencies. We don’t always manage it.

I took a look at the results of a race with which I’m familiar—the California International Marathon. It wouldn’t be fair to compare the first and second halves of the Boston Marathon or the New York Marathon, both of which are much more challenging in the second half. But the California International Marathon touts its reputation from Runner’s World as “a fast, if not the fastest, course in the country.”

The reason for this is because the first half of the marathon has gently rolling hills, while the second half is almost entirely flat or downhill. Yet an examination of last year’s results show that of the top 25 finishers, only 3 ran the second half faster than the first (“negative splits”). And one of those was only one second faster.

If the top runners in a race built for negative splits can’t fight the need for speed, what chance do the rest of us have?

Only one: use your memory. Resist the urge to bask in how great you feel at the start of a race and how effortless it all is. Instead, remember your last gasping, stumbling finish. Once you experience the thrill of passing mobs of burnt-out bonkers in the latter miles, you won’t want to go back.

The biggest marathon on the East Coast between New York City and Walt Disney World is the Marine Corps Marathon. Jim Hage, the first man to capture back-to-back MCM titles (in 1988 and 1989; his feat wasn’t duplicated until 2006), spoke first.

Hage told the group that there are no right answers in running and training, only different approaches and discovering what works for you. He advised seeking out more experienced runners, finding out what has worked for them and then applying it to your own training if it seems suitable for you.

He related how he felt confident that he would win at both the 1984 and 1985 MCMs, but came in third each time because, he said, he lacked drive at the end. What worked for him was to take some time off, reassess and then add more miles, going from 70 to 100 miles a week with double workouts on some days. In his next two MCMs, he summoned the energy at the end to win each time.

The rest of his comments were about continuity. Looking around at the assembled runners, he attributed their running to a lifestyle choice in favor of healthier living. Honoring our bodies, he termed it. But Hage stressed the importance of continuing on with this lifestyle choice even after the next big race was over. He cautioned against sinking into a post-race funk of inactivity and in a few short weeks losing all of the hard-won conditioning gained over long months of dedicated effort. Avoid having to start all over again when the next season comes along, he said. Two days after the race, go out for a jog, then take a longer run the next day. Resume training soon afterwards to eliminate the “yo-yo effect” of post-race weight gain and loss of conditioning.

The 2006 NYCM was the coming-out party for the next speaker, Samia Akbar. Sponsored by Reebok, Akbar was an All-American track star at American University. She debuted at the marathon in New York with a stunning 2:34:16, placing twelfth in an international field, the third American. Next up for her are the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in April in Boston.

Akbar spoke about tapering for a big race, and said everyone’s notion of tapering is different. For her, she will do some long runs up until the week before the event, then do shorter runs of the same intensity. Even now, she is avoiding running on pavement as much as possible as the race approaches. Some runners like to inject shorter but speedier workouts near the race, but she doesn’t like to increase her speed in workouts as the race draws near due to lack of familiarity with the routine and fear of injury.

Akbar talked about the importance of staying hydrated the entire week before the race, and said she doesn’t drink water during a race, only the energy drink she normally uses. As we’ve all heard before, a race is not the place to alter your routine and try new things, she warned. She grabs her special bottle at every water stop, taking only a few sips at the start and drinking more of each bottle as the race progresses. Other racers start with water and move on to their energy drink later in the race.

Before the race, everyone’s routine is different, she said. Before New York she ate a big breakfast of pancakes, turkey sausage, juice and fruit, four hours before the race. For her warmup, she does both static stretches that she learned as a schoolgirl, like touching her toes and doing lunges, and more active exercises, like repetitions of 100 meter striders, that allow her to elevate her cardiovascular system pre-race. That is what she has found works for her.

Jim Hage was 44 in 2002 when he became the oldest man to ever win the JFK 50-Mile Race. He continues to amaze everyone. Samia Akbar, at age 26, probably has her best times ahead of her. Listen to what both of these runners have to say. Watch out for Hage in any race, and pay attention to what Akbar does at the trials next month.

Photo credit (Akbar): dirk.malorny

Hydrate. Drink plenty of fluids before, during and after your run. Then drink some more. Dehydration occurs quicker at higher altitudes, so this is good advice even if you won’t be running. Experts generally agree that eating snow to hydrate is not a good idea because it burns too much energy to warm the snow to body temperature and it drops your core temperature. Everyone agrees that eating yellow snow is a bad idea.

There’s less air up here. This is a good news/bad news situation. The bad news is that according to renowned running coach Dr. Jack Daniels, at an elevation of 6,500 feet you lose 10 percent to 12 percent in VO2 max and at 7,500 feet you lose 12 percent to 15 percent. The good news is that a lower density of air means lower air resistance and better running economy. You just keep telling yourself that when you’re winded like an overweight smoker climbing to the top row in the stadium.

Enjoy the view. It’s a little known fact that the scenery improves by 10 percent to 12 percent with every 2,000 feet you gain in elevation. All right, I just made that up, but you should prepare yourself for a slower paced run than you’re accustomed to and you’ll find that focusing on the surroundings instead of your watch will make that easier.

Wear sunscreen. Putting yourself a mile closer to the sun may seem insignificant when you think about how far away the sun is, but I assure you that it will not feel insignificant tomorrow if you fail to heed this advice.

Lip Balm, and plenty of it. When you pass another runner you want to be able to wave and crack a smile, not your lips.

Take it easy. Stick to easy runs until you become acclimated. Don’t try to go out and run a tough session of intervals on your first run at altitude. If you’ll be racing at a high altitude, plan to spend as much time as possible at that altitude prior to the race.

A couple of weeks ago I spent the weekend in a quaint log cabin up near Grand Lake, Colorado (elevation 8,700 ft). After putting many of the above tips and guidelines to use, I learned one additional trick that works better than any of the rest. I have never heard any running magazines, Web sites or coaches mention this tip, so it’s exclusive to the Complete Running Network. We really do go the extra mile (vertically) to bring you the best running advice. Without further ado here is the best altitude running tip that I can give you:

Run with a good sled dog who understands the “mush” command. I assure you it will do wonders for your time.

Is the combination of a running shoe with biomechanical correction and an orthotic too much of a good thing? In some instances, yes. In other cases, maybe, maybe not.

Welcome to the gray area of matching orthotics to running shoes. This is the convoluted adventure of finding out which shoes work with your orthotics. Sometimes even when you’ve finally sorted it out, you then need a new orthotic with a different prescription or the shoe company has ‘upgraded’ the model you had once found worked with your orthotic. Either way, it may be back to trial and error.

To aid you on your quest, here are a few guidelines that may help you find the right combination:

1. Get the orthotic first, and then try it in a new shoe. The orthotic is usually the bigger investment and it is made specifically for your foot. It is easier to switch shoes than orthotics.
2. Test the orthotic/shoe combination on a treadmill or brief run before settling on the shoe purchase. If the gait feels unnatural or forced, try a different shoe.
3. Avoid shoes with lots of motion control. Start with neutral or cushioned shoes since the orthotic is designed with biomechanical correction already built-in. A shoe designed for motion control combined with an orthotic may lead to overcorrection.
4. Ask the running store staff for assistance. These folks usually know which shoes tend to be orthotic friendly. This may save you a lot of legwork in looking for the proper shoe.
5. Adapt your foot to the orthotic. Roll a golf ball under the foot a few minutes per day to help speed up its ability to adapt to the new orthotic. Exercises such as picking up marbles with your toes help to strengthen the intrinsic foot muscles.
6. I recommend a semi-rigid orthotic for running. This type of orthotic provides the biomechanical correction needed in most cases and also allows the foot to have normal movement and function without transmitting extra stresses up through the rest of the body.
7. If these guidelines do not work, let your body be your guide. If you cannot get comfortable with your orthotics, there may be some other underlying condition that needs to be addressed and, in some instances, the orthotic may need to be adjusted.

Hopefully these tips will point you in the right direction if you are one of the many orthotic wearers (like me) trying to find the right combination of orthotics and running shoes.

This kind of doctor is a rare commodity. My running friends and I pass around the names of the few running doctors we’ve found as if we’re handling the Dead Sea Scrolls. Any doctor who keeps us on the road and off the couch is a keeper. But, the question remains: Does a doctor who runs actually take better care of patients who are runners? My own experience aside, the answer seems to be—not necessarily.

The New York Times recently took a look at this question, talking to a number of athletes and doctors who are also runners. The patients said that for the most part, athletic doctors work harder to find ways to keep them active, looking for alternative solutions to nagging injuries and not reflexively playing the “stop-running” card. And the runner-doctors said much the same thing and said that they themselves seek out doctors who are also athletes.

But there are plenty of examples on the other sides of the fence, too. According to the article,

That is what Patricia Sener, 43, an open-water swimmer who lives in Brooklyn, discovered when she had a problem and went to a doctor who specialized in treating athletes. The doctor pointed to a gray spot in an MRI of her knee and told her she might need a major operation to replace her anterior cruciate ligament. But he said he would not know for sure until she was on the operating table.

“I’m training for the English Channel,” Ms. Sener said. “I’m on a time line. I can’t afford six months off.”

She went to a different doctor, a swimmer, for a second opinion.

“He pointed to the exact same spot on the M.R.I. and said: ‘See this. It’s normal.’” All she needed, she said, was physical therapy to strengthen the connecting muscle and ligaments around her knee and stabilize it. She recovered.

I’ve had relatively few serious injuries, but I tend to get a lot of persistent aches that make running uncomfortable for a few weeks or months at a time. I’ve seen plenty of doctors in the last few years and my experience has been that as soon as I mention that I’m a runner, they stop taking notes and just wait for me to finish talking so they can say, “Stop running for X number of weeks.” This has been true of every doctor I’ve seen, save one, who essentially has become my primary care physician despite the fact that he’s a rheumatologist. He’s a runner, and a pretty good one and as a result, he has an idea which problems actually do need rest and which ones can be worked out while continuing to run. But he also knows how stubborn runners are and isn’t afraid to tell me when I need to chill for a while. In other words, he’s not simply an enabler; he’s a doctor who listens.

Finding a doctor like that is tough, but it’s worth the extra effort. Ask around with your running partners and clubmates to see who they use and then check them out. Or check the major marathons and other races in your area to see who the official race doctors are. But find one, and stick with him. You’ll be much happier in the long run.

These bizarre traditions can’t possibly enhance performance, which is to say that playing in a fresh shirt as opposed to a smelly one is not going to make you hit the ball any harder. I’ve never known a runner who talked to his shoes or who had any other idiosyncrasies. like to think it’s because we are an extremely intelligent group. We don’t buy into all that foolish mumbo jumbo. Although, you do have that lucky race shirt that you always wear. And now that I think of it you do always put your timing chip on the right shoe, but I suppose that’s just good common sense since it balances out your watch always being on your left hand. If you’re anything like me then you’re also careful not to let your old running shoes “see” your new shoes, but I don’t think there’s anything quirky about that, is there?

Often, these superstitions are just routines that help us to stay focused and avoid distraction. It may be as simple as visualizing the race or going over your strategy in your mind. You may recite your goal splits while standing at the start, or size up your competition to find someone to pace with. Perhaps you have to remind yourself to start slowly or perhaps you rehearse your mantras, being careful not to appear as though you’re talking to your shoes.

So let’s hear it, what are your superstitions? What helps you stay focused on race day? Oh, and for the sake of the rest of us who toe the line next to you, please don’t suggest not washing your shirt between races.
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• Buy a jogging stroller. It will take a few months until she’s big enough to go in it, but you can immediately start dreaming about your quality time together.
• Rest. Remember, recovery is important.
• Stretch. You can be three feet away from her and still get a perfectly good stretching session done.
  Sleep. Any time. Any place.
• Keep carrying her. Carry a baby around all day and you’ll develop the biceps of a gorilla. That’s got to be good for running, right?
• Don’t plan for races in case she’ll stop you from training properly. Running without a race in mind can be fun and liberating.
• Don’t forget where your priorities will be for the next few weeks/months/years.

In case you’re wondering why I’m so baby-centric all of a sudden, here she is: Baby Maia, born on 2 November 2007:

1. If possible, plan your hotel location. For a client I’ve got near Baltimore, I’ve had great running trips when I stayed near a bike path/multi-use trail that I could get to safely on foot. And I’ve had
not so great trips where I’ve been hemmed in by traffic.

2. Packing – running clothes/stuff MUST go in the suitcase first. Stick the shorts and socks inside the sneakers. If you add it later, you’ll forget something vital. Add it first, and you’ll forget non-
vital stuff, such as skivvies and belts.

3. Running must get schedule priority. If you’re planning to wake up early to run, go to bed early. If you’re running after work, make sure the folks you’re visiting understand and don’t try to push
dinner earlier.

4. Travel running can be a career-enhancing move. If one of the clients/collaborators, etc, is a runner, see if you can get in a run together. You’ll see each other as more human which will help
whatever it is you’re doing.

5. Watch nutrition and hydration. Nothing’s worse than heading out for an afternoon run with a tummy still full of late lunch.

But as it turned out, I had a few problems with this plan: It was 9 a.m. In Tucson. In August.

The temperature was already 90 degrees F (I checked) and we set out on a trail that runs along the property. There’s a photo of it accompanying this column.

OK, I added the cattle skull.

Something I wasn’t immediately aware of was the elevation. Canyon Ranch sits about 3,000 feet above sea level. I live in Sacramento, California, which is – believe me – a hot weather town, but only 25 feet above sea level. So my two-mile “warmup” was more like the last 300 meters of a grueling 10K.

Mike was patient and took me through each of the drills in turn. We began with a few sets of walking lunges. We followed with some high knees, then some butt kicks, and finished off with some strides.

As you can see from the videos, these drills are not designed to make you look particularly cool, but should help put some more boost in my stride. Mike advised me to add these drills to my weekly speedwork, for which he also provided some suggestions.

Now that we knew my max heart rate was 185, he suggested an interval workout that would gradually increase sets of 2-minute runs at around 85 percent max. I would start with five repeats and work my way up to 12.

After 45 minutes I was melting, but I was still able to jog… slowly… back to the facility. Having had my body examined from all different angles, inside and out, it was time to have my head examined.

Next up: What are you running from?